able height from the ground or water-level ; seven or 

 eight eggs is about an average complement in my expe- 

 rience, but I have often met with nine, and occasionally 

 with ten. Three broods are generally reared, and I 

 have repeatedly observed the young birds of the early 

 broods busily at work with (as I suppose) their parents, 

 in repairing an old nest or building a new one. The 

 young birds of the year have a habit also of making 

 sham nests or platforms of bent-flags and bulrushes as 

 resting- or roosting-places for their own use. The old 

 Water-Hens are extremely pugnacious, and are very 

 dangerous neighbours to young Game-birds and Wild- 

 fowl, which they not only kill, but will greedily devour. 

 In spite of these crimes I personally take great delight 

 in observing the habits of this species, and look upon it 

 as a great ornament to our waters. As long as it can 

 find any open waters the Water-Hen will cling to its 

 favourite haunts, in spite of severe frosts ; in fact, so 

 long did they linger on the Nene in the neighbourhood 

 of Lilford during the terrible winter of 1890 and 1891, 

 that a very great number were found dead and dying of 

 starvation, and at this time of writing (June 1891) 

 there are certainly not two for every twenty that might 

 be seen on our river at this season last year. I do not 

 intend to imply that this loss is solely due to actual 

 starvation, but the severity of the weather and the ice- 

 bound river and ponds rendered the poor birds a more 

 than ever easy prey to their many enemies — the merciless 

 human loafer and his dog, the fox, the otter, the Sparrow- 

 Hawk, and the Crow family in general ; no doubt I may 

 safely add the rat and his enemies, the stoat and weasel, 



