GRALLATORES. RALLIES!.
_ T H E MOOR-HEN.
GaÜinvXa vhloropiis,-Common Gallinule,' Ben-n.?Brjt^!p®ol.;VoK S. p'.’,121.
Fnlica ,y „ - .* ' 1 MoNT.’Ojiiith.
Gallinula . „ „ „ BEwj^JBri^jg^ds. yoLK p . 145,
f ,, ' ' ,, Fi.EM.-Brit. An. pf‘9 9 ."
f & - v ' '"•"Seliby, Brit; Oimjfb. vol.-ii. p. 188.
— „ ,, „ J enyns, Brit. Yëït. p .^ f k i ,
I „ ■ H Gö'uld, Birds of Europe, pflTxiv.
>} „ Poule (Peau ordinaire, Temm. Man. 'd’Órnith. vóï. iiC p, 693.
7 Gallinula. Generic Characters.— PiWthidk a* the base, compressed,
iligbtly swollen towards the tip, subconic, as short as thé head. Upper mandible
convex, with the culmen extended and dilated', forming.'a naked frontal
plate or shield 5 -lateral farrow wide}. ®iapfiibl?s-uf nepily^egiialJength; apgle
of the lower-one ascending. Tomia of the under mandible slightly infracted,
and covered by the upper. Nostrils lateral, pervious, pieieed in the membrane
of the furrow in the middle of the bill^ longitudinal and linear. Legs strong,
of mean length, naked for a short space above the tarsal j’<5ipt_; front of the
tarsus scutellated 5 hinder part reticulated; feet four-toed, three before and one
behind ; -toes long, divided, and bordered through their whole length 'by a
narrow eptire membrane. Wings armed with a small, sharp, recumbent spine.
Plumage soft, and thick, but loose in texture 5 body compressed at the sides.—
Selby.'
T h e M oor-h e n is one of those well-known, half domesticated
species which , afford interesting opportunities for observations
on habits., i Dr. William Turner, who wrote on
British, Birds three hundred years ago, calls this bird a
Water-hen, or a Mot-hen; and Pennant says, that in the
days of moated houses they were very frequent about the
moats. They are found also on ponds which are covered with
aquatic herbage* old water-courses grown up with vegetation,
and among, the rushes, reeds, and willows of slow rivers.
They can swim andi dive with great facility, assisted by an
expansion of the membrane along thé sides of their toes; a
structure by which they are connected to the fin-toed aquatic
birds,, the descriptions of which will immediately follow.
Moor-héns are commonly to-be;; seen, on the surface o f the
water, swimming alpng with a nodding motion of the head,
picking up vegetable substances, first on one side, then on
the other, and .feeding generally on aquatic plants, small
fishes* insects, worms, and slugs, for some of which they may
be -seem early in the morning, and again in the evening, walking
Tiileri meadows near their haunts,' diligently searching
among the grass, particularly after a shower of rain in summer
; jerking;.up their tail as they walk along, and showing
the white under tail-coverts. Mr. Selby mentions that he
has several .timésd known this bird to have been taken on a
line baited with an earth-worm, intended for catching eels and
tro u t; and infers, therefore, that it is by diving they obtain
the larger coleopterous water insects, aquatic worms, and the
larvae of dragon-flies, upon which they are known to feed.
. When suddenly disturbed, they will sometimes take a short
flight, with their legs hanging down, and will occasionally
perch in a tree ; they are, however, capable of more extended
;exertion on. the wing, but appear to prefer the security afforded
by thick rushes.
The; nest m- generally placed among reeds on the ground;