516 WATER-RAIL. 
Holland, it is local; but over Belgium, France, and the rest of 
Europe, it is widely distributed, and in the Caucasus it is found up 
to a considerable elevation. Eastward it can be traced through 
Turkestan as far as Gilgit and the Himalayas; but the Indian region, 
China, Japan, and Southern Siberia are inhabited by the closely- 
allied 2. indicus. In Africa our Water-Rail breeds in the marshes of 
Morocco and Algeria, and visits Egypt, Abyssinia, and the vicinity 
of Aden in winter; but in South Africa it is represented by a 
distinct species, 2. cerulescens. It has not yet reached the Azores, 
but an example has been known to settle on a vessel in the Atlantic 
when 240 miles from the nearest land, and there is a record of 
more than double that distance. 
The nest, which is well concealed in a tussock of sedge, or some- 
times among coarse herbage in a willow-bed, is made of flat leaves of 
the reed and sedge; the eggs, 7-11 in number, are pale creamy- 
white, sparsely flecked with reddish-brown and ash-grey: measure- 
ments 1°4 by 1 in. Two broods are no doubt produced in the season, 
for Mr. A. H. Evans obtained eggs which were slightly incubated as 
early as April 8th, while fresh clutches are frequently found in June 
and July. The female, as a rule, slips off and sneaks away on the 
approach of intruders, and even if the clump of sedge containing her 
nest is surrounded and well beaten out, there is great difficulty in 
forcing her to take wing; a solitary person, advancing stealthily, 
can, however, approach sufficiently near for observation, and a dog 
will often capture a sitting bird. During the breeding-season Water- 
Rails are very noisy, uttering a loud cro-o-o-an, called “ sharming” 
in Norfolk. The food consists of aquatic plants, worms, slugs and 
snails, ; 
The adult male has the bill red; irides hazel; feathers of the 
crown, hind neck and upper surface olive-brown, with black streaks 
down the centres ; quills dusky-brown ; cheeks, neck, and breast 
lead-grey ; flanks nearly black, barred with white; vent pale buff; 
legs and feet brownish flesh-colour. Length 11°5; wing 4°75. 
The female is duller in colour, and frequently exhibits some distinct 
white bars on the wing-coverts. The young bird has the under 
parts of a dull buffish-white, speckled on the throat and barred on 
the flanks with dark brown; while the upper parts have a more 
olive tint than in the adult. The nestling is covered with black 
down. 
