FULTCARIjE. R A L L ID jR , about the moats.* They are found also on ponds;which are
G a l l in u la ch lo r opu s (Linnse-us *4^ >
THE MOOR-HEN,
OR WATER-HElSh
Gallxnula- chlorotpus.
GAiiHHULA, Frisson +.-^Bill thick at the base, compressed, slightly swollen
towards the tip, subconic, as short as the^hW^Wpper^mah'di&le^nvexj with
the culmen extended and^ dilated’^ forming a n a k e d , f r o n t a l plate $ r
shield; lateral furrow wide; mandibles' offene^rly equal length , angle of the
lower one ascending. Nostrils lateral, pervious, pierced m the membrane oi
the furrow in %e middlej’of tile- b i^ lo ^ tu d in a l and liifear.'" ’Wings '^hort,
concave, rounded, armed'with a small, sK.arp, recumbent spine. Legs strong,'
naked for a short space above % tarsal joint5; scptellated in-front ;-rvetieulated
behind; feet fo u rf^ d . three before and one behind,"; >tpes;’l^ ^ ,' divided and
bordered through their whole5length^by a narrow entire apgmhnane.
T h e M oor-h e n of those well-known, half-dbMesticated
species which afford interegting/ opportunities/for observations
on habitgbj Dr. William Turner, writing in 1544,
calls this bird a Water-hen, or a Mot-hen,;: and Pennant s'a.y'^
that in the days of moated housesHhoy werel.very frequent
* Fulica chloropus, Linnaeus, Syst. Nat. Ed. '12; i. p?'2Mf(l'766).
t Ornithologie, vi. p. 3 (1760)
covered with aquatic herbage, - old watercourses grown up
with vegetation,-and among the rushes, reeds, and willows
of slow rivers. They can swim and dive with great facility;
assisted by an expansion of the membrane along the sides
of their toes. Moor-hens are commonly to he seen on the
surface of the water, swimming along with a- nodding
motion of the head, picking up vegetable -substances, first
on one side,-then on thO-.ethb^ and feeding generally on
aquatic plantspsjnalJ; fishes,,rrinsects;.-Worms, and :slugs-, fcir
some ,of which :they may he seen early in -the- morning, and
again in th e r,evening, walking | over \ meadows| near their
haunts, diligently searching among, the-' -grass,I• particularly
after a shower of rain in summer; .jerk&gjup their tails as
they walk along, and showing -the -white under talk coverts.
Selby mentions, that he has several times known this
bird to have been taken on a line baited with' an earth--
worm, intended^for catching eels and-trout; and infers;
therefore, 'that was; 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 street • »they; are, however, capable?* of
more-" extended exertion | oxi the wing,' .but appear to prefer
theAsecurity'afforded by thick rushes. -
Shenstone .refers to the hiding habits of the Go&t, and
Moor-hen |o|the following lines
—^--------“ todurk the lake beside --
Where., €eot§jin-rushy dinglesdji^e,:, .*
.And Moorcocks'shun the day.”
The-nest - .is^generally, placed -among reeds on the ground;
sometimes among stumps, roots, or long grass, on a bank
at,the, edgjB.of the water; and the ,J^r<|4lhast hojm.known to
* Moruh^cfE, moorish was formerly used for, marshy, thus Spenser |§|3hB
“ 33ie morish^Cple and the soft-sliding.Breane. "ysSSj
. Fagrie Queene, xi.rjifc,xxixv ^
And again- ^AJhugCgreat serpent all .with speckles pide,^ ^
'oTo*drench himself m moorilh'Slim^%id tfad lf Gnat.