. British birds for cages and aviaries; a hanbook relating to all British birds which may be kept in confinement .. . it is rather impatient of cold. The Water-Rail. Though resident in Great Britain and Ireland all theyear round, the numbers of Water-rails are increasedduring the winter by immigrants from the north. The birdis about 11 inches in length, and is brown on the upperparts of the body and bluish-grey on the face, throat andbreast; the sides are white, and the belly and vent buff,with black spots; the legs and toes, which are very long,are greenish-yellow, and the bill orange, darker
. British birds for cages and aviaries; a hanbook relating to all British birds which may be kept in confinement .. . it is rather impatient of cold. The Water-Rail. Though resident in Great Britain and Ireland all theyear round, the numbers of Water-rails are increasedduring the winter by immigrants from the north. The birdis about 11 inches in length, and is brown on the upperparts of the body and bluish-grey on the face, throat andbreast; the sides are white, and the belly and vent buff,with black spots; the legs and toes, which are very long,are greenish-yellow, and the bill orange, darker abovethan on the lower mandible. The female is very like her mate, but is somewhatlighter in colour and smaller. The tail is short andpointed, and is frequently jerked up and down as thebird walks about in search of food, which consists chieflyof small molluscs and aquatic insects and plants. The eggs are cream coloured, marked with brown andgrey spots; they vary in number from seven to ten ormore. The bird can be readily tamed and will associatewith poultry, coming to be fed when called, and gettingvery lUK VVATEIl-RAIL. 162 BRITISH BtRD^ THE RAVEN. Unfortunately this bird is now very scarce, and withthe exception of a few locaHties, which it would be invidiousto name, has been practically exterminated in the interests (?)of game-preservers, who like to do all the killing for theirown sport. It is one of the largest of our native birds,measuring about 2 feet in length, of which the tail takesup rather more than 8 inches. The general colour is deepglossy black, with metallic reflections of blue, green, andgold, which make it a very handsome creature whenexamined closely. It is a cunning one too, and volumesmight be filled with anecdotes of its exploits in manydirecdons. The nest, made of sdcks, is placed in varioussituations, on a high tree, or the ledge of some inaccessiblerock, or a ruined building, or, failing such points ofvantage, even on the ground. The eggs, two
Size: 1333px × 1874px
Photo credit: © Reading Room 2020 / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1800, bookdecade1890, booksubjectbirds, booksubjectcag
