COMMON COOT. 175 



my weight. They are composed of flags and broken reeds, 

 finer towards the inside, and contain from seven to ten eggs." 

 These are stone colour, speckled over with nutmeg-brown, 

 and measure about 2-08 by 1'5 in. Bewick mentions that a 

 Bald Coot built her nest in Sir W. Middleton's lake, at 

 Belsay, Northumberland, among the rushes, which were 

 afterwards loosened by the wind, and, of course, the nest 

 was driven about, and floated upon the surface of the water, 

 in every direction ; notwithstanding which, the female con- 

 tinued to sit as usual, and brought out her young upon her 

 movable habitation. Some broods appear towards the end 

 of May, others in June. The young quit the nest soon 

 after they are hatched, and leave it entirely after three or 

 four days, to follow their parents, who are very careful of 

 them. 



Sir Thomas Browne, of Norwich, when writing of British 

 Birds, about 1635, says, " Coots are in very great flocks on 

 the broad waters. Upon the appearance of a Kite or Buz- 

 zard, I have seen them unite from all parts of the shore in 

 strange numbers ; when, if the Kite stoop near them, they 

 will fling up, and spread such a flash of water with their 

 wings, that they will endanger the Kite, and so keep him oif 

 again and again in open opposition." In confirmation of 

 this Lord Lilford writes: "It is very common in winter 

 on the lakes of Epirus, in which country I have several 

 times observed the singular manner in which a flock of these 

 birds defend themselves against the White-tailed Eagle. 

 On the appearance over them of one of these birds, they 

 collect in a dense body, and when the Eagle stoops at them 

 they throw up a sheet of water with their feet and com- 

 pletely baffle their enemy ; in one instance, on a small lake 

 near Butrinto, they so drenched the Eagle that it was with 

 difficulty that he reached a tree on the shore, not more than 

 a hundred yards from the spot where he attacked them. 

 They seemed to take very little notice of the Spotted Eagles, 

 Harriers, Buzzards, &c., but on the appearance of Bonelli's 

 Eagle would scatter off" to the covert of the reeds with which 

 most of the lakes arc tliickly fringed. I never, however, 



