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Birds. 
yet it can seldom be entirely deprived of its fishy taste. 
They build their nests amongst reeds, long grass, roots, 
and stumps by the water-side, breeding twice or thrice 
in the course of a summer ; the eggs are white, with a 
tint of green, dashed with brown spots. 
There are very few countries in the world where 
these birds are not to be found. They generally prefer 
the cold mountainous regions in summer, and lower and 
warmer situations during winter. 
* The fish are leaping, and the Water-hen 
Dives up and down. A storm is coming on." 
Schiller. William Tell. 
THE CORN-CRAKE, OR LAND-RAIL, 
(Ortygometra crex,) 
Is a migratory bird, appearing in England in April, and 
departing in October. At the time of its arrival it is 
very lean, but becomes excessively fat before it quits the 
island. Their favourite haunts are cold and humid 
upland districts, corn-fields in the vicinity of water, and 
