a 



FULICA. 233 



Fulica australis. 



AUSTRALIAN Ci JO'I'. 



Jndica an.tralis, Gould, Proc. Zool. Soc, 1845, p. i> ; i,l,^ Htl.s. Austr., fol. Vol. VI., pi. 74 (184^) ; 

 «/., Handbk. Bd.s. Austr., Vol. II., p. 3-9 (1S(m); Sliarpp, Cat. P.ds. Brit. Mus., Vol.' 

 XXIII., p. 217 (1894) ; id., Haiid-l. Bd.s., Vol. I., p. 110 (1S9I)). 



ADur/r .MALE. — (/r»t'm/ colour above ureyish-hlack sliyhthj tinyM icUh olive ; upper wing-coverls 

 dull brown, with indufincl <,r^,ji,h-black margins : secondaries like the hack .- priomries brown, 

 tlwir ont.er webs and tips having a blackish wash .■ edge of the wing white : tad yre>/ish-hlaak ; head 

 and neck black, passing iido dark viuom brown on the remainder of the under surface, washed with 

 greyish-black on the long lower jlank leathers : under tail-corerts dull black .• bill light bluish-grey, 

 passing into greenish-white „n thr fmntal plate ■ legs and feet grey ,• iris red. Total length in the 

 tb'sh 14 inches, uAug ;■..', tail .', bill, with fro, it.a.l platr, /-.JX, tarsus .' .\ 



AUUI.T FEMALK. — Similar in plumage to the male, but smaller. 



Distribatio,i.—^orth-western Australia, Northern Territory, Oiieensland, New South Wales, 

 N'ictoria, South Australia, Western Australia. 



"^^T ITH the exception of the central portion of the continent, the Australian Coot is found 

 X. \. in suitable situations over the greater portion of all the States, and is likewise found 

 in Tasmania. Probably owing to the absence of any permanent marshes in Central Australia, 

 was the reason the members of the Horn Scientific E.xpedition, in 1894, did not meet with J 

 single representative of the Order Fulicariai' during their journey in this part of the continent. 



Ihe Australian Coot may at once be distinguished from any other species of the Family 

 Rallid.e by the wide lateral lobes to its toes; also by its long secondaries, almost equalling in 

 length the primaries. Swamps, lagoons and backwaters are its favourite haunts, especially those 

 overgrown with reeds, rushes and Polyc;onum bushes, and here and there clear spaces of deep water. 

 It is an e.\pert swimmer and diver, and also perches on the roots of trees and lower branches, when 

 growing close to the water. Usually they are met with in pairs or small Hocks, e.xcept during a wet 

 season, when they congregate or may be met with in large numbers, and frequently in the company 

 of other species of waterfowl. When found in a wild state it is inclined to be shy, but when it 

 resorts to the lakes or ponds of public parks and gardens it is just the reverse. It used to be very 

 common on the lake in the Botanic C.ardens, Melbourne, and several of these birds would come 

 to be fed if a piece of bread, or biscuit, was thrown only a few yards away; they would also 

 resort to the grassy lawns to feed in the vicinity of the lake. Although numerous and breeding 

 freely in this popular and well frequented place, and in lesser numbers in the swamp near 

 Prince's Bridge, I never met with this species in the Albert Park Pake, which is less than a 

 mile away. Certainly there was not the cover for them, except at the St. Kilda end of that sheet 

 of water. During visits to the Botanic Gardens and the vicinity thereof, Melbourne, in 1911 

 and 191 2, I noticed a total absence of these birds, their place being taken by Galltnithi tenebrosa. 

 Although common on most of the inland rivers and lakes of New South Wales, it is without 

 exception the rarest member of the Order Fulicaria- frequenting the neighbourhood of Sydney. 

 Occasionally it may be seen on the ornamental sheets of water in the Centennial Park, and 

 specimens have been procured at the Botany Water Reserve and Randwick. It occurs in 

 various places on the mountain ranges, and the late Mr. J. P). Cox, of Cullenbone, Mudgee, 

 informed me that on the 25th February, 1897, one of these birds was captured on the top of 

 Mount Wilson, Blue Mountains, at an altitude of three thousand five hundred feet, the nearest 

 river being a mile away. 



59 



