THE AMERICAN COOT 96 



sands. More than this, two or three meadow frogs had 

 elected to lay their eggs there also and their tadpoles were 

 abundant. 



It did not take me long to recognize that these were 

 not ducks, or at least were not the kind of ducks that I 

 desired to kill. One very noticeable feature was that 

 their bills were almost white and showed very conspicu- 

 ously against the glossy black head and neck. In general 

 the birds were a dark bluish color, the wings tipped and 

 touched with white. The bill was not so broad as the bill 

 of a duck and evidently was better suited for catching 

 living creatures than for eating grass. 



In fishing they were very active indeed. Instead of 

 standing on their heads with their tails and heels in the 

 air like a duck they made short quick dives, often only 

 putting the head and neck under the water but sometimes 

 submerging entirely. I watched them for some time, for- 

 getting all about shooting. Finally becoming more inter- 

 ested I attempted to move to a new location where I could 

 see better, when they discovered me and flew away, strik- 

 ing the water with a tremendous splatter of wings and 

 feet as they rose into the air. Doubtless this was with 

 the deliberate intention of startling me, just as a quail 

 or a dove flaps her wings over her back for this purpose. 



In Northern Iowa and Minnesota I have become better 

 acquainted with these birds. Here they nest by the hun- 

 dreds or even thousands. At one time I am sure that I 

 saw several thousands of these birds on the shore of a lake 

 where they appeared as thick as the chickens in our poul- 

 try yard at home. Usually they build their nests by pil- 

 ing reeds, moss, grass, etc., in the shallow water, anchor- 

 ing them to rushes very much as does the loon. This nest 



