256 HANDBOOK OF BRITISH INLAND BIRDS 
contrasted plumage of olive-brown and deep slaty- 
grey, set off by a white streak in the wing, and 
the conspicuous white patches beneath the tail. 
The upper mandible of the bill is extended back- 
wards into a curious plate on the front part of the 
head. This plate is bright red in full-grown birds, 
but greenish before they reach maturity. The 
newly-hatched Moorhen is a fluff-ball of sooty 
black, and it takes to the water within a few hours 
of its leaving the shell. A half-hatched nestful 
of young Moorhens, with some of the young 
birds already paddling among the reeds, others 
still lying in the nest, and some of the eggs still 
unbroken, is a charming and interesting sight. 
Nesting begins very early in the season, often as 
soon as March, and sometimes goes on till July. 
The nest is generally built among the reeds, but 
often on a stump or on an outstretched bough close 
to the water's edge, or resting on the water ; 
occasionally it is found at some height in a tree, 
especially on the flat top of a pollard willow. It 
is built of dry flags, and is usually a fairly solid and 
roomy structure, as it has need to be, indeed, 
seeing that it is sometimes required to hold as 
many as thirteen eggs. There are rarely less than 
six, and the average number is eight. They are 
pale yellowish-brown or browny-white in ground- 
colour, rather sparingly spotted and speckled with 
