A Cunning Moorhen. 351 
water is carefully preserved. Here they are not so 
persistently hunted. I have seen coots, and moorhens 
too, venture some distance up the dark arch of a 
culvert. Moorhens are fond of bridges and frequently 
feed under them. When alarmed, after diving, the 
moorhen does not always come right up to the sur- 
face, but merely protrudes its head to breathe. 
One day I startled a moorhen in a shallow pond ; 
instantly the bird dived, and I watched to see where 
it would come up, knowing that the moorhen cannot 
stay long under water, while there chanced to be 
scarcely any bushes or cover round the edge. After 
waiting some time, and wondering what had become 
of the bird, I fancied I saw some duckweed slightly 
agitated. Looking more carefully, it seemed as if 
there was something very small moving now and then 
just there—the spot was not more than fifteen yards 
distant. It was as if the beak of a bird, the body and 
most of the head quite hidden and under water, were 
picking or feeding among the duckweed. This con- 
tinued for some few minutes, when I shot at the spot, 
and immediately a moorhen rose to the surface. As 
the pond was very shallow the bird must have stood 
on the bottom, and so resumed its feeding with the 
beak just above the surface. 
