Allen’s naturalist’s lirrary. 
2lS 
obscure dusky bars; outer wing-coverts with narrow white 
Nestling-. — Covered with black down. 
Range in Great Britain.— The Water-Rail nests in nearly every 
county of England, Wales, and Scotland, where suitable locali- 
ties exist It IS rarer in the latter kingdom, and breeds 
sparsely but Mr. Robert Read has recorded its eggs from 
Posstl Marsh, near Glasgow. In Ireland, Mr. U.ssher says that 
t IS reported to nest m every county. A considerable migra- 
tion southward appears to take place in winter ; but the species 
lands known to stay during the latter season in the Shet- 
Range outside the British Islands.— The present species is resi- 
dent and breeds in most of the countries of Europe, excepting 
the extreme northern parts, being resident in Norway near 
Bergen, and ranging nearly up to the Arctic circle, while it 
has also occurred on Jan-Mayen, and is believed to be resident 
m Iceland. Its eastward range extends to Turkestan and 
Afghanistan, and it visits North-western India in the winter 
occurring as far ea.st as the Nepal Terai. In Eastern Siberia 
Japan, and Chinn, j?. tndteus takes its place, and this snecies 
migrates south, visiting Southern China, and the Burmese 
to^*Oud^h extending west to the district of Calcutta and 
Habits.-The Water-Rail, like most of its relations, is a very 
shy bird, and one whose habits are most difficult to study in 
unwillingly, and trusts to 
and turn" 't 
fi^L ^ "’kile its peculiarly compressed and 
s ender body enables it to thread its way through the grass and 
rushes at a high rate of speed. One which I shot at Avington 
m November, gave me a lot of trouble to secure. Our party 
was returning from duck-shooting in the water meadows, when 
I saw the retriever running along the side of a hedge-row, with 
a deep ditch of water on the side nearest to me. I crept up 
thinking that he was after a wounded Duck, but for some time I 
could see nothing of his quarry. At last I could make out 
