on some Rails and Gallinules.



23



children, which, when it was full-limbed, it was fond of doing. Not

one of them could get away from it then. This winter I shall see

that it has shelter when the cold weather sets in. Another charming

little bird that I still have is the African Black Rail ( Limnocorax

niger). This bird is about the size of our Water Rail, but stands

higher on the legs. In colour it is a rich velvety black, with carmine

legs and a primrose-coloured bill; eye rich red. Although not so

tame as its Amazon cousin, it is by no means shy, and can be

generally seen at any time of the day, and in my few spare moments

this summer I have had much pleasure from watching its pretty

ways and habits. Its call is a kind of laughing grunt, but it has

various other croaks and chuckles. The dealer from whom I got it

offered me a pair, but on their arrival I found that one of them was

the African Dwarf Moorhen ( Gallinula angulata). Unfortunately this

little bird was evidently damaged on the way down, as it died the

next day. In colour it was almost an exact replica of our Moorhen,

having even the red leg-collar, but it was only half the size. It seems

strange that a dealer, with a reputation as a naturalist, should have

sent out such dissimilar birds as a true pair. The middle of June I

missed this little Rail for several days, and thought that it might be

incubating. True enough, a diligent search around the edges of its

pond revealed a neat little nest, well hidden in the long grass, and

containing five rather large eggs. These were cream-coloured, and

thickly covered with red spots, slightly denser at the larger end.

What a pity that she has not a mate ! Late last summer I got a pair

of American Moorhens, but neither lived very long. They are too

much like our own birds to make them very interesting. The

principal difference seemed to me to be an extra length of leg in the

American bird. The bare skin on the head of the male also appeared

to be larger. Much more interesting were a pair of little Brown

Gallinules from Central America that I obtained about the same

time, believed to be Porphyriola parva. These were of about half the

size of our Moorhens, and of much the same build. The bill,

however, was much heavier, being of the type of P. porphyrio. They

did very well with me for a time and I had great hopes of breeding

them this summer, but one morning I missed them, and found that

they had both, as well as a small Blue Rail from the same district,



