XIV 

 THE COOT 



THE coot {Fulica atra) is a rail which has 

 taken thoroughly to the water. It has, 

 in consequence, assumed many of the 

 characteristics of a duck. We may per- 

 haps speak of it as a pseudo-duck. Certain it is 

 that inexperienced sportsmen frequently shoot and 

 eat coots under the impression that they are " black 

 duck." Nevertheless, there is no bird easier to 

 identify than our friend, the bald coot. In the 

 hand it is quite impossible to mistake it for a duck. 

 Its toes are not joined together by webs, but are 

 separated and furnished with lobes which assist it 

 in swimming. Its beak is totally different from that 

 of the true ducks. But there is no necessity to shoot 

 the coot in order to identify it. Save for the con- 

 spicuous white bill, and the white shield on the front 

 of the head, which constitutes its " baldness," the 

 coot is as black as the proverbial nigger-boy. Thus 

 its colouring suffices to differentiate it from any of the 

 ducks that visit India. Further, as " Eha " truly says, 

 " its dumpy figure and very short tail seem to dis- 

 tinguish it, even before one gets near enough to make 



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