8o JUNGLE FOLK 



certain sportsmen, as we have seen, never lose an 

 opportunity of dining off roast coot, and appear to be 

 none the worse for the repast. Moreover, Mr. Frank 

 Finn, who holds that no man is properly acquainted 

 with any species of bird until he has partaken of the 

 flesh thereof, informs us that '* coots are edible, but 

 need skinning, as the skin is tough and rank in taste." 

 Miss J. A. Owen has a higher opinion of the flavour of 

 the bird. She maintains that coots are " very good 

 for eating, but they are not often used for the table, 

 chiefly because they are so difficult to pluck, except 

 when quite warm." Further, low-caste Indians appear 

 to be very partial to the flesh of our pseudo-duck. One 

 of the drawbacks to water-fowl shooting in this country 

 is the constant wail of the boatmen, *' Maro wo chiriya, 

 sahib, ham log khate hain " (Shoot that bird, sir, we 

 people eat it). Neither expostulations nor threats will 

 stay the clamour. The sportsman will enjoy no peace 

 until he sacrifices a coot. If, then, human beings of 

 various sorts and conditions can and do eat the coot, it 

 is absurd to suppose that the creature is unpalatable 

 to birds of prey, some of which will devour even the 

 crow. It is true that I do not remember ever having 

 seen an eagle take a coot, but how few of us ever do see 

 raptorial creatures seize their victims ? What is more 

 to the point, some observers have seen coots attacked 

 by birds of prey. We are, therefore, compelled to 

 regard the bald coot as a ribald fellow, who makes 

 merry at the expense of modern zoologists by setting at 

 naught the theory of natural selection as it has been 

 developed of late. 



