INTRODUCTION.

: : . Hips “t] ict ing afterwards :
a blow of its pointed bill, a considerable portion of the victim being afterwards eaten

death of a chick from |
lities frequented by this bird, can have failed to be

No one who has lived much on the Thames, or other loca

‘| hich it wi ack a rat. a duck, or even so large a bird as a swan
struck by the fury and boldness with which it will attack a rat, < i g
if it approaches its nest.
r re . +
«At the beginning of July,” says H. J. Partridge, Esq., of Hockham Hall, near Thetford, in Norfolk,
Z 5 5 . ° e

“the keeper having lost several Pheasants about three weeks old from a copse, and having set traps in vain

for winged and four-footed vermin, determined to keep watch for the aggressor, when, after some time,
5

a Moorhen was seen walking about near the copse. The keeper, supposing 1¢ only came to eat the young
Pheasants’ food, did not shoot it, until he saw the Moorhen strike a young Pheasant, which it killed imme-
sants ; i -

diately and devoured, except the leg- and wing-bones. The remains agreed exactly with eight found before.

Perfect confidence may be placed in the correctness of this statement.”— Zoologist, 1854, p. 4250.

For further evidence in proof of the correctness of these statements see my account of the Moorhen

in the fourth volume.

In case what I have here and there said respecting the pugnacious and carnivorous propensities of the
Moorben should excite surprise, I may mention that they appear to be shared in common with all the other
members of the group to which it belongs, from the delicately formed Rail to the most robust Porphyrio ;
and that they are all ofa combative disposition is evidenced by the possession of a sharp spur on the wing,

short in some of the species, and prolonged in others.

The question has arisen whether, when we consider the present comparative scarcity of the Peregrine and
other of their enemies, it will be really advisable to encourage the breeding of the marine or cliff birds,
many persons being fearful that such a measure would lead to a great decrease in our edible fish, upon
which they solely subsist. The daily quantity consumed by the Gannet and Cormorant, to say nothing of
the Guillemots, Terns, &c., is greatly beyond conception, thus showing that both care and judgement are

necessary with regard to the new laws about to be enacted.

Had a measure been passed fifty years ago and penalties enforced for killing the Great Auk and the few
remaining Bustards stalked over our er ane ‘
aining ards that then stalked over our great plains, we should doubtless have still had these two fine
birds gracing our islands; as it i }
sg slands 3 as it is ‘mer (Ale ee An . .
g é 5 é is, the former (4/ca impennis or Gare Fowl) is wholly extirpated from the

waters, not only ; a oe ;
y of own country, but of the universe. The Bustard still holds its own on the Continent,

SI dle by t Coy ad c ] lise earance ] le ( ult Ve Oo > vast | le nS al | W ls ovel which it roau

whereby they have been r Be : erates :
\ y have been rendered incompatible with its existence. The Capercaillie, which probably died
> °