also kill and devour their young, and:is on that account a
dangerous neighbour. Its usual food is aquatic insects and
their larvae, slugs, beetles, worms,- grass-shoots, • and grain,
when procurable. The call-note is a loud* crek-rek-rek
several times repeated, and especially towards evening.’
The Môor-hen is generally distributed throughout ; the
British Islands, and as a rule is resident, but -in the colder
districts, of the north it migrates southward in winter; : An
irregular visitant to the Faeroes, it breeds sparingly in
Norway and Sweden; nor does it range far north in
Russia; but south of the Baltic it appears to be generally
distributed where , localities are suitable, breeding throughout
Northern and Central and Southern Europe down to; the
Mediterranean, and also on the African ’ side, where, however,
the migrants are in the majorityV'VInithe Canaries,
Madeira, and thè Azores it is resident, and its course can
be traced down the West Coast of Africa to Cape Colony,
and round that continent by Mozambique and the islands pf
Réunion and the Seychelles,' up to Abyssinia; and sd hack
to Egypt. Eastward .it 'is generally diffused'j/throughout
Asia as far north as Darasùn and Kultuk, where Dybowski
obtained both eggs and birds; and southwards throughout
India, Ceylon, the Philippines, China, and Japan up to
the North Island, being generally resident and .partially
migratory, according to- the. influences!-!!IfÀbolâ^'at the
loftiér elevations, ' or- the want of suitable moist localities
in the hot low S countries. ' Upon-1 this'' -subjeéth'Mr Jl|p;
Parker (Ibis, 1888, p. 195?)^- has contributed. the ^results
of some interesting observations made lins^the Mannâr
district in North-western &(Deylen, tending>'.to«? show! that
the migration thither for breeding purposes is the! »result
of the food-supply produced by the establishment of tanks
about 2 ,0 0 0 years -ago. In; considering the hirds/i-resi-
dent over this wide area as-belonging to .^heu same'species,
it liiust be mentioned that there iare'cfertainploeal. races of
the Moor-hen, and that both the Indian and the/African
forms are slightly, shorter in the wing than examples
from Western Europe: the. frontal plate is also larger in
Eastern $ birds. In Madagascar is found $ a representative
form, which has been distinguished 'by Professor Newton
under the name of G. pyrrhorrho^ and whieh has a larger
frontal _plate, yellow legs, buff under tail-.coverts, and 'a'
different mote ; and in America û closely-allied species, G.
galeata, occurs throughout the temperate and tropical portions
of that continent. -In the Hawaiian Islands a well-defined
species, G. sanâmcensisf is found ; and a remarkable island-
form,? GiJ^&siotis,' océnrsl in the Tristan d’Acunha group. -
The male has ' the beak yellowish-; thé base'of I t, and
th e “naked-patch "on the forehead, red; irides | reddish-,
hazel;.the back, w_ings, rump, and tail,-rich dark-olive-
brown ; head, neck, breast, and sides-, uniform dark slate-
grey.; . outside of 4he thighs and; the .flanks s t r e e d with,
white; belly a n d ’’vent greyish-white ; under taiheesejts
white; alîvè the tarsal jo in t'a garter of red;-legs and
toe& 'greenish-yellow ; the, clyiws dark brown."
Length about thirteen inched From the carpal joint do
the qnd.of the wing six inches and three-quarters. •
The female is, as a rule, rather larger,; and more - vividlycoloured
than the male. - - ' “ / ^
The !yohn£'- are- at ^rst C0vere^ black t ^ y down.
Their after-plumage is white'’ on! the‘"throat|^ front and
cheeks a mixture-|©f; brown and white ; breast and sides
ash-grey; tinged v^ith brown the bg^M . ^an^s
strëakëd with yellowish-brown ; under tail-coverts cream-
yellow ;\u|per parts" dark grey, tinged with,oil-green ; beak
and legs dull green ; the -frontal patch, small,-and partly!
concealed by feathers/"'" * ^ “ *1 * h _
The Rev-. Mr. Lubbock mentions a!oufi|us‘!yarièty of the
Moor-hen, in which-the baek andwingtf were mottled with
white, and sandy-coloured- spécimens have been obtained in
Norfolk and near Nottingham.
The vignette “represents dhe breast-b|ne »pf- the Moor-hen
of the natural sizei/in two-’points of view, one from the side,
the other a s § |^ f rom below ; the l a « ’serves to illustrate
the flattened' forth of-'the body which belongs to the Crakes,
Gallinules, and Rails. H
VOL. III. 'A