124 . TiiF, ^^']I.so^• r.ri.i.i-ynx— Xo. GS 



rive diiriiii,' tlie last Aveek of April. I liavo no fall records. The 

 nests are Imilt up from the water, ii.-ually heaps of vcLjetatioii, which 

 are always dry on toi), with a made runway from the nest into 

 the water, up which the l)irds clindi in .troiuix from the water upon 

 the nest. The places where 1 have found nests the most numer- 

 ous were near the borders of open water where the vesietation is 

 dense. The birds seem to require effective cover, but suflicient 

 space between the stalks for easy proi^re-ss swimming or wadinu'. 

 If one approaches the nest the bird slides off and almost imme- 

 diately begins a i)rotesting caclcle. circling about among the reeds 

 just out of sight. At, least one i»air has ai)pro|)riated Biemiller's 

 Cove for a nesting place, and the whole family may be seen there 

 busily at work ])icking ui) a living. It is a connnon sight, in sea- 

 son, to see Gallinnles lined up along the liorder of Black Channel, 

 industriously feeding just- at the edge of the channel. Man.v times 

 I have counted upwards of fifty at tlie west entrance to this chan- 

 nel. One can penetrate the marsh practically nowhere \\ itliout call- 

 ing forth loud protestations from thes-e liirds. 



r>7. Fiilicci aniciicaiKi. — Coot. 



Abundant in the marshes during both migrations, but brecdiug 

 only sparingly. It is a frequent April visitor at the Oberlin Water 

 Works reservoir. Coots arrive in the marshes as soon as the ice 

 disa])pears. which was March !t, 1008. l)ut not until :\rarch 25, 1907, 

 and become connnon in a few days. The.y remain extremel.v com- 

 mon until well toward the middle of May (May 20, 1907), then 

 decrease to a few In-eeding pairs. They return to common about 

 the middle of September, and remain very numerous until the first 

 touch of winter — near the middle of November. My latest record 

 is November 26, 190G. The Coots are much more open water fre- 

 quenters than the (iallinules, and tiy rather more readily w'hen 

 startled. They feed more in the open water near the borders of 

 the marsh, or along the borders of any open water area. They are 

 seldom seen feeding singly in the marshes during the migration 

 movements, but gather into companies, sometimes numl)ering over 

 a hundred individuals. Their hen-like movement of the head and 

 neck when they are swinnning makes it easy to distinguish them 

 from the ducks when both occur in the same company. They do 

 not seem to fraternize with the ducks to any extent. 



58. SIctjaiioiHts tricolor. — Wilson's Phalaroi>e. 



There are two records. l>oth in tlie vicinity of oberlin. On .May 

 10, 1899, there was one at tiie Oberlin Water AVorks reservoir, and 

 on the 14th of the same year one at a small field i>ond just outside 

 the village limits. I feel certain that the species is one which reg- 

 ularly visits the-»area, but has escaped notice. 



