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The Coot is not so often met with in wet ditches as the Gallinule, and the 

 former is quite as aquatic as any of the duck family (Anatidce). Indeed, so 

 partial is it to the water, that, during the many years which I have observed its 

 habits, I have rarely seen one on land, and then only for a short time ; while the 

 Gallinule is often found at a great distance from any water, on roads, near houses, 

 &c. In districts where the Coot abounds, it may be seen in considerable numbers 

 in all seasons, on the water during the whole day, either seeking its food on the 

 surface of the lake, diving, half- diving, or lazily allowing itself to be wafted by 

 the winds and waves on the surface of the pure element, with its head buried be- 

 tween its shoulders, in the manner of the Herons (Ardea) and other aquatic 

 birds. During the March winds it generally remains in this sulky mood the en- 

 tire day ; and I have, at such times, frequently seen more than twenty floating 

 and tossing about on the waves, having all the appearance of inanimate bodies but 

 for an occasional dart at an insect or fish which had unwarily approached within 

 their reach. At these stormy periods they are seldom seen to dive, which at other 

 times they do expertly (although rather a clumsy half-diver) ; but no sooner do 

 the winds subside and give place to the balmy air of April, than their aquatic 

 sports commence in full vigour, and they may be observed frolicing on the water, 

 diving beneath, and testifying their joy in a thousand different ways. 



This species cannot be termed gregarious, for although from forty to fifty may 

 frequent a single sheet of water, yet each individual keeps perfectly distinct 

 throughout the autumn and winter, and even in the breeding season they are not 

 very often found in pairs ; this peculiarity has prevented my ascertaining the exact 

 time at which they pair, which, however, usually takes place in March, though 

 sometimes later, according as the seasons vary. 



The nest is built in a bed of rushes or irises, in an open spot several feet from 

 the land, and is never situated, like that of the Gallinule, in a thick tuft of herb- 

 age, with a view to concealment, but may be easily discovered at a considerable 

 distance. Its composition does not differ from that of the Gallinule, but it is 

 larger and flatter. The eggs are of a light chocolate colour, marked with thickly- 

 set spots of brown and purple. Their usual number is seven or eight, but I have 

 occasionally seen nine, and even ten. The first broods are hatched about the 

 middle or towards the end of May, but there is a continual succession of broods 

 through the month of June. My observations lead me to believe that the Coot 

 has but one brood in the year ; and if two broods are ever raised I should be in- 

 clined to consider it rather a rare occurrence. The young quit the nest immedi- 

 ately they are hatched, keeping close to their parents until they can manage for 

 themselves ; they remain in the immediate neighbourhood of the spot three or four 

 days, sleeping in the nest at night, and then disappear. If you approach the 

 newly-hatched brood in the day-time they all disperse, diving underneath the water, 

 and rising to the surface under cover of the aquatic herbage, and are often con- 



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