FLORIDA GALLINULE 277 



inland waters, though in general resembling a duck, is a 

 relative of the rails and gallinules, with lobed and not 

 webbed feet. It is a migrant through New York and New 

 England, rare in New England in April, but fairly common 

 from late September to November. In the Hudson Valley 

 it is said to be common from the end of April to the mid- 

 dle of May. It frequents the swampy borders of lakes or 

 sluggish streams, where it seeks the shelter of bushes and 

 reeds. When several Coot are together, they often play on 

 the water, and frequently run along the surface, making a 

 loud splattering noise. A bird often stands up full length 

 out of the water, shows its ungainly form, and then sinks 

 forward into the water. In feeding, a Coot dives readily, 

 and pulls up the aquatic plants from the shallow bottom. 

 It swims freely but generally with a backward and forward 

 motion of the head, which distinguishes it from a duck. 

 Langille, who studied the Coot on its breeding ground, 

 describes it as " decidedly a noisy bird, its coo-coo-coo-coo 

 being heard both day and night. It also has a squack simi- 

 lar to the quack of a duck. As a migrant, however, it is 

 generally silent. The white bill is the best field-mark, and 

 is particularly noticeable when the bird faces the observer. 



Florida Gallinule. Gallinula galeata, 

 13.50 



Ad. — Head and neck blackish ; rest of body slate-gray, washed 

 on the back with brown and on the belly with white; under tail- 

 coverts white; bill and forehead bright red, the former tipped with 

 greenish-yellow. Im. — Similar, but under parts suffused with 

 white; bill and forehead brownish. 



Nest, of cat-tail flags , floating on the water or on a bed of flags. 

 Eggs, buff or buffy-brown, sparsely spotted with brown. 



The Florida Gallinule is a rare summer resident of south- 

 ern New England and the Hudson Valley, arriving in May, 



