THE COOT 261 



the water, but, like the moorhen's, it can be raised, and is 

 raised if the water rise. In their nest is deposited from seven 

 to nine eggs, after which the birds begin to sit ; and if you 

 are sharp, and go stealthily along in a punt, you may sud- 

 denly come upon the sitting bird, when she will " off nest " 

 and dive into the water like a waterhen. Whilst one sits 

 the other feeds round about near-by, diving to the bottom 

 and pulling up the weed, which it brings to the top and eats. 

 As soon as the pretty young coots are hatched the family 

 take to the water, and you may on a fine April morning 

 see them swimming about, just outside the reed or gladen 

 beds, but they generally keep inside the bush. But should 

 you come upon them suddenly, they will all dive and scatter 

 for cover; on the other hand, if they first see you, they will 

 noiselessly sink themselves under water, just leaving their 

 beaks and two eyes above. Sometimes a late snowstorm 

 overtakes the young brood, and they perish miserably. I 

 once saw two dead youngsters and six eggs half-buried in the 

 snow ; the young were not strong enough to get away, and 

 the old hen wouldn't sit the storm out. As I have said, 

 they are coots and selfish. But when the}'' have left the 

 nest they return there to rest at nightfall ; it is warmer 

 and safer from vermin there. They are a fast-growing bird, 

 and soon after they leave the nest it is difficult to tell the 

 young from the old birds, though the old ones are greyer 

 and balder. When the young can feed themselves, the 

 parents leave them. During the breeding season, if any 

 unfortunate young ducks come in the way of the old coots, 

 they will wantonly kill every one, chasing them round 

 the reed and gladen beds till every duckling is a dead 

 bird; and for this pleasant habit of theirs they are often 

 killed off, especially round about decoy pipes, where 

 young decoy ducks frequent. Indeed, the coot seems to 

 hate the duck ; and I know one keeper who robbed a 

 coot of her eggs, giving her some ducks' eggs to sit 

 upon, but she wouldn't sit upon them, and deserted the 



