COOT. 197 
and striking the water with its dependent legs; but 
in the confined area of a marl-pit it often submerges 
itself until only the beak is left above water, and 
remains quiescent until the danger is over. This power 
of submergence is acquired at a very early age, and we 
have seen black downy chicks, only a few days old, 
leave the nest on which they were resting and sink 
quietly beneath the surface. 
COOT. 
FULICA ATRA, Linnzus. 
Bald Coot. 
Unlike the Moorhen, the Coot does not nest in the 
marl-pits, being confined to the meres and larger pools, 
where it is locally abundant. In Wirral the bird 
appears to be very rare in the breeding season. Brock- 
holes only knew it as a winter visitor, but Mr. W. E. 
Sharp informed Dr. Dobie that a pair or two visit the 
pits near Ledsham every year, but are always killed or 
driven away.2. The Coot breeds in some numbers on 
all the meres of the Plain, being particularly abundant 
on those waters where there are extensive reed-beds. 
On approaching any of these meres one is struck by 
the number of the black birds that dot the surface, for 
the Coot is more in evidence than any other species. 
The sharp metallic call is uttered both by day and by 
night, and the birds are especially noisy during the 
breeding season. The lack of cover is sufficient reason 
for its absence from the reservoirs among the Hills, 
but it nests regularly at Lyme, Adlington, Poynton, 
1 Brockholes, op. cit. p. 13. 2 Dobie, op. cit. p. 332. 
