COOT 185 
Brak. Yellow towards the tip, and bright red at the 
base ; ‘frontal plate’ same colour. 
FEET. Greenish-yellow, with a red band just above the 
heel; toes, long and slender. 
IripeEs. Bright reddish-brown. 
AVERAGE MEASUREMENTS. 
TOTAL LENGTH ... eek 5 16) in. 
WING Ovom G: 
BEAK ees Bod ag bas) 96 
TARSO-METATARSUS ae Sac hOn ss 
EGG EG 5) Sal ena 
Allied Species and Representative Forms.—The Water- 
hen, which inhabits Madagascar and some of the adjacent 
Islands, is somewhat different from our own bird, while that 
found in the Tristan da Cunha group is a distinct species, 
called G. nesiotis. G. galeata is the American, and G. 
sandvicencis the Hawaiian Islands’ representative. G. tene- 
brosa, without white streaks on the flanks, is the Australian 
bird (Saunders). 
Note.— The Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio c@rulens), the 
Green-backed Gallinule (P. smaragdonotus), the Indian 
P. poliocephalus and the Australian P. melanotus, are 
frequently kept in semi-captivity, and individuals which 
have escaped, or which have been deliberately turned out, 
have from time to time been captured in our Islands. The 
bird from the south-west of Ireland recorded by Thompson 
as a ‘‘ Martinique Gallinule,” has proved to be P. smaragdo- 
notus, but there is said to be a genuine example of the 
American species in Mr. Hart’s Museum at Christchurch ”’ 
(Saunders). 
COOT. Fulica atra (Linneus). 
Coloured Figures.—Gould, ‘ Birds of Great Britain,’ vol. iv, pl. 
84; Dresser, ‘ Birds of Europe,’ vol. vii, pl. 504; Lilford, 
‘ Coloured Figures,’ vol. iv, pl. 63. 
The Coot, another familiar and common species in 
suitable localities in the British Isles, is even more strongly 
aquatic in its habits than the Water-hen. Unlike the 
