THE PRATINCOLE. 301 
appearance, is usually very fat, but has a disagreeable taste and 
marsh-like odour. Three species are known, only one of which 1s 
found in this country, namely, the Coot (/udca atra, Fig. 114), the 
Foulgue macroule of French naturalists, very common in the north 
of France and all quarters of the Old and New World ; the Crested 
Coot (& cristata), sometimes a visitor to the South of Europe, and 
Fig. 115.—Pratincoles. 
differing very little from the Common Coot, but distinguished from 
it by the red and prominent bony protuberances at the top of the 
frontal plate ; and the Blue Coot, which is described as an inhabitant 
of Portugal. 
The Pratincole (Glareola pratineola, Fig. 115) has the bill short 
and curved, the tarsi long and slender, the middle toe joined to the 
outer by a small membrane, the wings long and pointed, the tail 
forked. They live in flocks on the banks of the Danube, the Volga, 
and on the shores of the Black and Caspian Seas. They feed on 
