FAM. XLII. BAILS, GALLINULES, ETC. 



259 



9. Purple Gallinule (218. londrnis martinica). — A short-tailed, 



long-legged, brilliantly puri)lish-blue, chicken-like, marsh bird 



with very long toes, enabling it to walk on the floating leaves. 



The back itself is a shining olive-green, the under tail coverts 



white, bill with much red, and the legs yellow. The young 



has much brownish on the back, white niottlings below and 



bill without red. 



Length, 1.3 ; wing, 1\ (6f-7|) ; tail, 2f ; tarsus, 2| ; culiu'jn, 1|. South 

 Atlantic and Gulf States ; breeding as far north as southern Illinois and 

 South Carolina, straying rarely to Maine and Wisconsin, and wintering 

 from Florida to Brazil. 



10. Florida Gallinule (219. Gall inula galeiita). — A common, 

 southern, dark slate-colored, chicken-like, marsh bird with long 

 toes like the last spe- 

 cies. The front half 

 of the bird is nearly 

 black and the rest 

 brownish, except the 

 white under tail cov- 

 erts, edge of win^'. 

 and streaks on the 

 flanks. The bill is 

 red and the legs are 

 yellow in life. (Com- 

 mon Gallinule ; Red 

 billed Mud-hen.) 



riorida Gallimile 



Length, l.SJ ; wing, 7 (6i-7i) ; tail, 2f ; tarsus, 2\ ; culmen, If. Tem- 

 perate and tropical America ; breeding north to Canada and wintering 

 from the Gulf States to Brazil. 



11. American Coot (221. Fhlica americcina). — A common, 

 large, noisy, short-tailed, short-billed, long-legged, dark slate- 

 colored, swimming bird, with white under tail coverts, white 

 bill, and blackish head and neck. The long toes have broad, 

 scalloped lobes along their edges. When swimming, this 

 bird bobs its head in a peculiar manner; Avhen disturbed, it 

 partly flies and partly swims just over the surface of the 



