Locomotion in Young Birds. 63 



■with any steadiness, and gently lowered into the water on 

 the palm of the hand, swam off with fair ease. The only 

 difference in their leg-movements from those of somewhat 

 older birds was that the strokes were rather slower, more 

 sprawly, and not quite so neat. The scarce-dry down, too, 

 soon gets wet, and the bird sinks deeply in the water. 

 Under natural conditions the young moorhen takes to the 

 water almost at once. Mr. F. A. Knight tells me that he 

 has several times disturbed moorhen chicks a day after 

 hatching (having seen, that is to say, the unhatched eggs 

 the previous day), and observed them scramble into the 

 water and swim away. On one occasion, however, the birds 

 were less clever swimmers, and Mr. Knight's companion 

 " righted " two of them with her parasol. Mr. Knight 

 also noted at the time (oh ! that men would always be 

 careful to note at the time, and take to heart the ex- 

 cellent precept of the immortal Captain Cuttle !) that 

 one of the young moorhen chicks that he thus disturbed 

 dived under a log of wood. Now, I did all in my power 

 to make my little moorhens dive ; hustled them in the 

 bath, clapped my hands, banged the door, and boxed their 

 ears, but without effect. I played them a few chords on 

 the violin, but even that did not scare them. They seem- 

 ingly regarded all this as among the inevitable incidents 

 of education. I put up a barrier across the bath, penning 

 them into a confined space, and placing on the other side 

 their favourite raft, made out of an old cigar-box, on to 

 which they always climbed as soon as possible, thinking 

 they might dive under the barrier to reach their raft. 

 And here it may be parenthetically remarked that young 

 water-birds, ducks and moorhen chicks, which are only 

 occasionally given a swim, take to the water less eagerly 

 than those which under natural conditions are from the 

 first accustomed to be constantly swimming; ducklings 



