WATER-RAIL. 
219 
something like a rat darting out from under the roots of a 
bush, and apparently making for the river. When the dog 
approached its hiding-place again, the Rail, as I now perceived 
it to be, instead of taking to flight and putting the Itchen 
between it and its pursuer, deliberately doubled, and running 
past the dog, which had an insecure foothold on the sloping 
bank, scudded some fifty yards back along the latter, and hid 
up. The retriever retraced his steps, and again drove the Rail 
towards the river, but the bird repeated its doubling manceuvre, 
and the dog had to re.sume the chase again from the starting point. 
At last the Rail took flight, and flew across the river with reluct- 
ance, with its legs hanging down, when I shot it. During the 
whole of the chase this bird uttered no sound; but the Water- 
Rail has a note, which Naumann describes as a clear, shrill, 
but melodious kreek, uttered principally during the evening 
when preparing to migrate. During the pairing season, at 
evening time, it utters a liquid ivheet, not unlike that of the 
Nuthach. The food of the bird consists of worms, insects, 
snails, and gnats, and it also eats the tender shoots of aquatic 
plants, or the seeds of reeds and sedge, according to 
Seebohm. Mr. Howard Saunders says that “during the 
breeding season Water-Rails are very noisy, uttering a loud 
groaning cro-o-o-an, called ‘ sharming ’ in Norfolk.’’ 
Nest. — A nest found by Seebohm and Mr. Howard Saunders 
in the Norfolk Broads is described as being “ admirably con- 
cealed. It was about a foot from the ground, but had a solid 
foundation under it, formed by the roots of the clump of rushes, 
in the midst of which it was built. It was carefully made ol 
flat sedge and the flat leaves of the reed, lined with dry broken 
pieces of round slender reeds.” 
Eggs. — Five to seven in number, but sometimes as many as 
nine or eleven. Ground-colour creamy or pinkish-stone, with a 
few spots of rufous distributed over the egg, or clustering 
towards the larger end. The egg is double-spotted, the under- 
lying spots being lilac-grey, and nearly as distinct as the over- 
lying ones. As a rule the rufous spots are small, but 
occasionally they are large and form blotches towards the 
big end of the egg. Axis, i'4-i'5 inch; diam., i'o-i’o5. 
