The Moor-Hen. 39 



Family— RALLID^. 



The Moor-Hen. 



Gallinula chloropus, LiNN. 



THE Moor-hen, whicli is also known as the Water-hen and the Common 

 Gallinule, is found all over the United Kingdom, and is generally distributed 

 throughout Europe, except in the extreme north. In Africa it extends to the 

 Cape. In the northern part of its habitat it is a migrant, coming south during 

 winter, but in England it may be regarded as a permanent resident. In Ireland 

 it is generally distributed. It is not confined to Europe, but extends across Asia 

 as far as Japan, and even into the islands of Java and Sumatra. 



The Moor-hen is found in marshes, streams, and large ditches, where it can 

 find suitable shelter in the covert, formed of reeds and other aquatic plants. It 

 is by no means a shy bird, and those that inhabit ponds near houses become very 

 tame, feeding with the poultry and the ducks, but the wilder birds are exceedingly 

 wary ; the moment they are approached they dive, and remain concealed, the beak 

 only showing above the water. It is admirably adapted for its aquatic residence, 

 swimming under water with great facility, being propelled by the action of its 

 wings as well as its feet. Its flight in the air is more laboured, it flaps heavily 

 forward, with its long legs dangling down and its neck stretched out in front. 

 Its voice is loud and far reaching. The call note, which is often uttered in the 

 evening, resembles the syllables crekrecrek, and it also produces a note like that 

 of the frog. The young birds have a querulous pipe, but on the first appearance 

 of danger they hide and utter no sound. 



The Moor-hen feeds on both animal and vegetable substances, worms, beetles, 

 snails, and water insects forming its chief food, to which it adds the shoots of 

 grass and seeds of aquatic plants. Its food is mainly obtained from the water, 

 but after rain it may be observed, both in the morning and the evening, seeking 

 for slugs and worms on the land. The nest of the bird is rather a clumsy 

 structure, constructed of dried leaves and blades of grass ; sometimes, however, it 

 is made in thorn bushes or in trees by the river side. Both sexes assist in 

 building the nest, which is made early in the season, and sometimes two or three 

 broods are raised in the year. The eggs are usually seven or eight in number, 



