NOKTH AMERICAN MARSH BIRDS 361 



cftf-tails over water ti or 4 feet deep, others were built in close to shore in very 

 dense cat-tail thickets. One nest was found built on dry ground, another fully 

 2 feet above the ground on a platform of dead cat-tails, with a neat runway 

 leading up to it; and still another nest fully 4 feet above ground in the lower 

 branches of an apple tree, the water of the lake having receded that much after 

 having inundated the orchard. Two nests were seen far out on open water that 

 were readily visible at a distance of 100 yards. One nest was found that looked 

 exactly like a grebe's nest; another was built entirely of weed straws; still 

 another entirely of freshly cut green cat-tails and one over deep water was 

 made entirely from green moss brought up from the bottom of the lake. 



Eggs. — The number of eggs in a coot's nest varies from half a 

 ilozen to two or three times that number; normal sets usually run 

 from 8 to 12 eggs; as many as 16 even 22 have been recorded, prob- 

 ably the product of more than one bird. The shape of the eggs 

 varies but little from ovate, but they are often quite pointed. The 

 shell is smooth with a very slight gloss. The ground color varies 

 from dull "pinkish buff," rarely, to "cartridge buff," wldch is the 

 usual color. It is thickly and evenly covered with very small spots 

 and minute dots of very dark, or blackish, brown. The measure- 

 ments of 122 eggs average 49 by 33.5 millimetei's; the eggs showing 

 the four extremes measure 63 by 32.5, 52 by 36, and 41.5 by 30 milU- 

 meters. 



Young. — The period of incubation is 21 or 22 da3's. It is shared 

 by both sexes and the male often stands on guard while his mate 

 is sitting. The eggs are apparently laid on successive days and 

 incubation is continued more or less regularly during the laying per- 

 iod, for one, or sometimes two, young birds hatch each day during 

 the hatching period. The young are decidedly precocial, leaving the 

 nest soon after they are hatched and swimming about in the vicinity; 

 they can swim and dive almost as well as their parents and their 

 ability to remain under water is astonishing. Grinnell, Bryant, and 

 Storer (1918) say: "In two instances youngsters not more than a 

 day old were observed to remain under water nearly three minutes 

 as timed by a watch. They could be seen clinging to vegetation 

 beneath the surface until apparently forced to come up for air." 



Dr. Joseph Grinnell (1908) writes: 



A quite significant and interesting fact was noted in that the feet of the young 

 grew far more rapidly in proportion than the rest of their body. A half-grown 

 mud hen has astonishingly large feet, and after ob.serving the ease with which 

 the youngsters swam and dived (apparently just as well as the adults), the rela- 

 tive importance of those members to the early success of the individual seemed 

 plain. The young of a family near camp returned with both parents to the old 

 nest each evening at dusk, but much squabbling and jostling, accompanied by 

 various toots, grunts, and cries, took place before they were all finally settled 

 ior the night. 



Plumages. — The downy young coot is a grotesque but showy little 

 ■chick; a black ball of do^vn with a fiery head. The almost bald 



