Marsh
An area of waterlogged, well-vegetated ground with neither a continuous cover of water nor a peaty soil. If the water cover is continuous (but lack of open water prevents the names 'pond' or 'lake' being used), the area is called a 'swamp'. With a peaty soil, it is a 'fen' if the water is alkaline and a 'bog' if it is acid. A peat bog may be called a 'flow' in northern Scotland and a 'moss' in northern England. Typical birds of these types of wetland include the Snipe Gallinago gallinago and the Reed Bunting Emberiza schoeniclus.From Peter Weaver's Birdwatcher's Dictionary
Copyright © 1981 by Peter Weaver