CLASS II. AVES: OEDEE 1. GEALLATOEES. 
267 
ground or among the rant herbage, seeking for worms and insects. A few are found in dry situ- 
ations, but tlieir food is much of the same nature as that of their marsh-loving brethren, and very- 
few appear to take any considerable portion of vegetable nourishment. Nearly all arc valued for 
the table, and some are among the most delicious of viands. The folloAving are included in this 
extensive and important order : the Rails, Jacanas, Snijws, jPkalaropes, Sandpipers^ Curleivs, 
Ricffs, Tatlers, Stilts, Avocets, Sjtoon-. Bills, Ibises, Storks, Cranes, Herons, Bitterns, Boat-Bills, 
Plovers, Oyster- Catchers, Pratincoles, Thick-Knees, Bustards, Trumpeters, c%c. 
THE EALLID^ OR EAILS. 
In these the bill is short; the legs stout; the wings of moderate size, and in some genera armed 
with spines at the carpal joint. 
They feed principally upon 
worms, mollusca, and insects; 
but many also eat a good deal 
of vegetable food, such as 
blades of grass and seeds. 
Some of them are solitary, 
others more or less gregari- 
ous in their habits. They 
build a large nest of dried 
grasses and sedges, placing it 
upon the ground among thick 
herbage ; the eggs vary con- 
siderably in number, and the 
yomig are able to run, and 
frequently to SAvim, as soon as 
they are hatched. 
Genus GALLINULA : Gallinula. — This embraces the European Moor-Hen or Wateb-ITen, 
Poule d^eau of the French, G. chloropus, thirteen inches long ; upper parts olive-brown ; be- 
neath uniform slate-gray. It lives among the reeds and sedges along the banks of rivers and 
lakes, feeding on insects, worms, 
mollusca, and seeds. It is often 
'fi',. 
THE MOOR-HEN. 
seen on rivers, ponds, and lakes, 
swimming with a nodding mO" 
tion of the head. When dis- 
turbed they will take a short 
flight, but prefer a retreat to 
the rushes and sedges. They 
sometimes perch on trees over- 
hanging the Avater. This spe- 
cies is partially domesticated in 
some parts of England, and sev- 
eral broods have been hatched 
in the canal of St. James' Park, 
London. It is w^idely distrib- 
uted over Europe, Asia, and Af- 
rica. It is sedentary in Eng- 
land. 
There are several species in 
the United States. The Purple 
Gallinule, G, Martinica, is 
fourteen inches long ; general color a rich violet-purple. It passes the summer in Florida, 
Georgia and Louisiana, retiring fui-ther south with its brood in autumn. It is a vigorous, active 
THE GOilMOX EUKOPEAX COOT. 
