OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS. 8i 



a singularly shrill and piercing kik-ik-ik often modulated into 

 ker-r-r-r-k, and is most frequently uttered at dusk or even during 

 the night. The food of this species consists of worms, snails, 

 insects and their larvae, buds, shoots and seeds of water plants, 

 grass, grain, and even berries, especially of the wild rose and the 

 hawthorn, to obtain which the bird frequently alights in trees and 

 thickets. , When in a semi-domesticated state it will eat almost 

 anything that may be thrown down for waterfowl ; and it has been 

 known to kill and eat ducklings and Pheasant chicks. I have 

 known it try to eat dead mice and rats, and to pick a bone. 

 Although at all times more or less sociably inclined it is never so 

 gregarious as the Coot, and even in the severest weather seldom 

 visits salt water. When hard pressed for food it will often wander 

 considerable distances from the frozen lakes and ponds, even 

 visiting farmyards and gardens. 



Nidificatiou. — The Waterhen, especially when Uving under 

 semi-domestic conditions, is one of the earliest birds to breed. I 

 have known it to commence nest-building in such cases by the 

 beginning of March, long before the flags were high enough to 

 conceal the nest. The nest, however, is not generally ready for 

 eggs before the middle of April, and in cold, backward seasons it 

 is often a fortnight later still. The nest is placed in a great variety 

 of situations, and as I believe this bird pairs for life certain spots 

 are chosen year after year. It is most frequently placed among 

 the rushes, reeds, and flags growing near the side of the water, and 

 is often a floating structure made many yards from shore. Some- 

 times it is built amongst the exposed roots of trees growing on 

 the bank, or even on a flat drooping branch above the water. 

 Fir-trees are frequently selected sometimes as much as twenty 

 feet from the ground. In such situations the chicks must be 

 carried down in the parents' claws. The nest is a large bulky 

 structure of rotten aquatic vegetation, loosely put together but 

 trampled down into a rather firm mass. The cavity containing 

 the eggs is rather flat and shallow, and is lined with finer and drier 

 material. Some nests are much higher than others, and many 

 are increased in bulk as incubation progresses. I have known 

 nests added to daily to repair damage caused by the incessant 

 wash of the waves. The eggs are from six to ten in number, 



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