454 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 
often watched these birds feeding on the weed, for 
which they constantly dive with great ease and stay 
down for some considerable time: I have also often 
watched them feeding on the short grass on the lawn 
by the side of the pond, cropping it off with the 
sides of the beak, turning their heads first on one 
side and then on the other, so as to bring the sides 
of the beak on a level with the gress. 
Amongst the Coots that occasionally pay me a 
Short visit in the winter I have never noticed the 
extreme shyness spoken of by some authors ; on the 
contrary, they stay about with the tame wild-fowl, 
and do not seem to object to being watched when 
feeding either on the water or the land. 
Except for the bald head the Coot would be a very 
dull-looking bird, but the bald patch on the forehead, 
which is pure white, enlivens the general appearance 
very much. The beak also is white, except a small 
portion at the base, which is tinged with pink; 
irides crimson ; nearly the whole of the plumage is 
a dull dark lead-grey ; the head and upper part of 
the neck are darker than the rest, rather inclining to 
black: the under parts are lighter than the upper, 
more inclining to grey, especially in young birds; 
the primary quills are dark dusky, nearly black; the 
secondaries the same, but tipped with white; the 
legs, toes and membranes are dark green, except a 
narrow ring of orange just below the feathered part 
of the thigh. These membranes are rather curious 
