GALLINULE. 40 1 



last county we have ourselves twice met with it ; it is generally seen 

 about the first of April, and disappears in October; but I learn 

 from Col. Montagu, that he received a fine specimen of the female 

 once so early as the 16th of March, and that its being excessively 

 fat, and in fine condition, made him suppose it had been here all 

 the winter. It is a solitary bird, except in breeding time, and makes 

 the nest among the rushes and reeds, composed of rushes matted 

 together, in the form of a boat, and fastened by one end to a reed, to 

 prevent its being carried away by the water. The female lays seven 

 or eight white eggs : the young run as soon as hatched, and are 

 wholly black. If not migratory, it at least changes place, in France, 

 Italy, and Spain. Great numbers appear, in pairs, on the Isthmus 

 of Gibraltar, about the middle of February, and to the end of March, 

 or as long as the low grounds continue watered. In summer they 

 disappear, but are seen again in September and October. Mr. 

 White observes, that he could never find any distinction of sex, 

 except that the females were rather smaller than the males. We 

 find it likewise in the southern, reedy, grounds of Russia, and the 

 west of Siberia,* but no where so plentiful as the Common Species; 

 have also seen it among other drawings from India, and may there- 

 fore suppose it to inhabit that part of the world. A species analogous 

 to this, if not the same, is also found at Hudson's Bay, in length 

 only eight inches, breadth fourteen, and weighs scarcely three 

 ounces ; comes to that place in May, and is seen in plenty along the 

 coasts of the bay, and about the rivers, brooks, and lakes ; lays ten 

 or twelve white eggs, in a bush, or among grass, and departs in 

 October; is called there Paupakapatesew. The food of this bird is 

 not for certain known, but probably is the same with that of the 

 common sort. Buffon mentions one, which was kept tame, and 

 observed to stand in the water for a long time together, if not dis- 

 turbed ; it was fed with bread and hempseed. 



* Mr. Pennant. 

 VOL. IX. F F F 



