sari) 
PURPLE GALLINULE. 
GALLINULA MARTINICA, LaTH. 
PLATE CCCV. Mate. 
Reaber, although you may think it strange, I candidly assure you 
that I have experienced a thousand times more pleasure while looking 
at the Purple Gallinule flirting its tail while gaily moving over the 
broad leaves of the water-lily, than I have ever done while silently 
sitting in the corner of a crowded apartment, gazing on the fiutterings 
of gaudy fans and the wavings of flowing plumes. Would that I were 
once more extended on some green grassy couch, in my native 
Louisiana, or that I lay concealed under some beautiful tree, over- 
hanging the dark bayou, on whose waters the bird of beauty is wont 
to display its graceful movements, and the rich hues of its glossy 
plumage! Methinks I now see the charming creature gliding sylph- 
like over the leaves that cover the lake, with the aid of her lengthened 
toes, so admirably adapted for the purpose, and seeking the mate, who, 
devotedly attached as he is, has absented himself, perhaps in search of 
some secluded spot in which to place their nest. Now he comes, 
gracefully dividing the waters of the tranquil pool, his frontal crest 
glowing with the brightest azure. Look at his wings, how elegantly 
they are spread and obliquely raised; see how his expanded tail 
strikes the water; and mark the movements of his head, which is al- 
ternately thrown backward and forward, as if he were congratulating 
his mate on their happy meeting. Now both birds walk along cling- 
ing to the stems and blades, their voices clearly disclosing their mutual 
feelings of delight, and they retire to some concealed place on the near- 
est shore, where we lose sight of them for a time. 
Now, side by side, they look for the most secure spot among the 
tall rushes that border the lake, and there they will soon form a 
nest, removed alike from danger to be dreaded from the inhabitants of 
the land as of the water. On the thick mass of withered leaves are 
deposited the precious eggs, from which in time emerge the dusky 
younglings, that presently betake themselves to the water, over which 
