300 REPTILES AND BIRDS. 
times the shores of estuaries, bays, and gulfs.* Like the Water Hen 
and the Rail, their life is almost nocturnal. During the daytime they 
secrete themselves among reeds and flags ; from which they do not 
emerge until evening, when the demands of Nature force them to 
seek their food. ‘This consists of worms, small fishes, and the young 
shoots of aquatic plants. Coots but rarely traverse firm ground, 
where they walk with difficulty ; on the other hand, they swim and 
dive with graceful ease. Their flight is less feeble than that of the 
Rails ; still it is far from strong. 
Fig. 114.—The Bald Coot. 
Coots herd together in flocks; they make their nests on reeds 
doubled down on the water, and lay from eight to fourteen eggs. 
The young ones are able to swim as soon as they are hatched, but 
they often fall a prey to the marsh harrier. It sometimes happens 
that the whole brood is destroyed in this way: when such is the 
case, if early in the season, the female lays a second time. 
The Coot is found in every country in Europe, in North America, 
in Asia, and in Africa. Its flesh, which is white and delicate in 
* The southern extremity of the Chesapeake Bay (Va,), in the winter of 1871, 
was covered with thousands of Coots.—En, 
