WATER-HEN. 
379 
situation was a very odd one for a Moor-hen s nest, but 
there was a reason for it: the rising of the water in the 
pond frequently flooded the hanks of the island, and, as 
I have before witnessed, had destroyed several broods by 
immersion/' Mr. J. H. Tuke informs me, that he has in 
several instances seen the nest of the Water-hen placed 
upon the boughs of a tree above the water, and that he 
saw one at Castle Howard upon the branches of a willow 
overhanging the lake there, and four or five feet above 
the water. I once came very suddenly upon a Water- 
hen, which dived on my approach; and whilst I was 
leaning over a hedge close upon the margin of the brook, 
wondering that it did not again make its appearance 
from below, I found that it had approached the surface 
of the water, and, protruding its bill alone to breathe, 
remained entirely submerged; it was then very near me, 
and as long as I remained perfectly still, and that was 
for some minutes, it did the same; but the moment I 
moved and broke the spell, the fascination which seemed 
to paralyse its movements—for it watched me intently 
the whole time—it made another rapid somerset, and 
rose ag^ain some distance down the stream. The Water- 
hen makes a large nest of reeds, rushes, and other water- 
plants, and lays from five to ten eggs. 
