The COMMON GALLINULE, or MOOR-HEN (_Stagnicola_, or _Gallinula chloropus_), is, notwithstanding the plainness of its attire, a very beautiful bird. The plumage of the back is dark olive-brown, elsewhere dark slate-grey; the thighs are spotted with white, the region of the vent is pure white. The colour of the eye is peculiar; immediately round the pupil is a circle of yellow, to which succeeds a second of green, while a third exterior ring is red. The beak towards its base is vermilion-red, towards its apex yellow; the foot greenish yellow. The length of this bird is twelve inches, its breadth twenty-three inches; the length of the wing seven inches and a half, and the length of the tail three inches and a half. The habitat of the Moor-hen extends all over Europe and a considerable portion of Asia, but it is seldom seen in Africa. In Europe, with the exception of the high northern latitudes, it is everywhere common. In England it is met with at all seasons, whilst in Germany it is a bird of passage, arriving about the end of March, and departing in October; some few, however, remain all through the winter. These birds generally travel by night, and probably on foot, at least some of them have been captured under circumstances that lead to such a supposition. In early spring they usually arrive in pairs, in the vicinity of their breeding-places, but occasionally they come singly. Naumann, who watched a pair of Moor-hens from his garden for several consecutive years, sometimes observed that the males and sometimes the females appeared first; on one occasion the female came alone, and seemed to use her best endeavours to get a partner to join her, but in vain, until at length, after a fortnight's sojourn, she disappeared. On another occasion the male arrived by himself, and seemed by no means to consider his solitary condition as one of single blessedness; day and night he reiterated his call-note, almost without intermission, and sometimes in such a pitiable tone that it was almost distressing to hear him, until at length, on the fifth evening, his anxiously looked-for mate arrived, and put an end to his love-lorn suspense. When a pair has once taken possession of a suitable pond they are silent, but if a female is first upon the spot, she seems to invite any passing male to join her. The individual so invited frequently flies around her in wide circles, as though bethinking himself what he should do; generally, however, he is content to pursue his journey alone, as is made manifest by the renewed solicitations of the female.