growth in _Rallicula_, _Pareudiastes_, and _Thyrorhina_. The furcula is U-shaped, the tongue lanceolate, the aftershaft very small. Down is plentiful in both adults and young, that of the nestlings being commonly black, while the chicks of our Moor-Hen and Coot have the head adorned with red and blue. Rails, not being born blind, run from the shell, and swim at once. {245}Ralline birds are under ordinary circumstances non-gregarious, and inhabit tangled marshes or damp localities near rivers and lakes; but many, and especially the flightless forms, have a predilection for dry plains, as for instance _Pennula_ of Hawaii, _Ocydromus_ of New Zealand, _Cabalus_ of the Chatham Islands, _Habroptila_ of Halmahera, _Tricholimnas_ of New Caledonia, and _Pareudiastes_ of Samoa. _Crex pratensis_ of the Palaearctic Region also haunts dry lands. _Fulica gigantea_ occurs only on the lakes in the Andes of Chili, Bolivia, and Peru. Some species are partly crepuscular, and in Britain the Spotted Crake is certainly little heard except towards evening. Rails walk easily with bobbing head and jerking tail, while they prefer running to flying, as the flight is laboured and requires continuous action of the wings. As may be readily seen in the case of Coots and Moor-Hens, some difficulty is experienced in rising from water, the feet trailing along the surface for several yards; but, when once fairly launched in the air, the legs, which at first hang down, are drawn up below the tail, and a steady pace is maintained for considerable distances. Most species swim and dive with facility, and will even remain with only the bill above water; perching and climbing, too, are common habits. Generally speaking, the members of this Family are silent birds, though they may be constantly heard calling towards dusk; the more or less melancholy notes are less varied than in many other groups, but may be harsh and sonorous, or loud and clear. The groaning noise uttered by the breeding Water-Rail, the somewhat frog-like sound made by the Moor-Hen, the continuous craking of the Corn-Crake, the "cackling" of the Clapper-Rail, the shrill whistle of the Wekas, the rasping cry of _Ocydromus sylvestris_, the deep trumpeting of the Purple Gallinule, and the clearer call of the Coot are some of the most notable exceptions. The food consists of worms, molluscs, insects and their larvae, green herbage, tubers, roots of aquatic plants and seeds; _Porphyrio_ and _Tribonyx_ cause serious damage to potato-, rice-, and corn-crops: while the former bird is said to have a curious habit of holding the larger edibles in its claws and nibbling them like a Parrot. Some of the stronger species occasionally prey on mice, lizards, young birds, and eggs. The nest may be a large mass of aquatic plants or dry flags, as in the Coots, or a similar but smaller structure, as in the Gallinules; the former being commonly founded under water, though raised above it, whereas the latter is generally near the bank