PHALAROPES. I47 



railway pier at Titusville, Florida, where shooting is prohibited, they 

 are as tame as domestic Ducks. They evidently know the boundary 

 line between safety and danger, however, and when beyond the pro- 

 tected limits show their usual caution. 



Coots swim easily, with a peculiar bobbing motion of the head and 

 neck. When alarmed they patter over the water, using their feet as 

 much as their wings. The sound produced is a characteristic one. 



They are noisy birds, and when alarmed break out into a great 

 chorus of high, cackling notes which I have heard at a distance of half 

 a mile. Their ivory-white bill is an excellent field mark, and readily 

 serves to distinguish Coots from Gallinules. 



The European Coot {220. Fulica atra) inhabits the northern parts of the 

 Old World, and sometimes occurs in Greenland. It closely resembles the 

 American Coot, but lacks the white markings on the edge of the wing and 

 under tail-coverts. 



ORDER LIMICOLiE. SHORE BIRDS. 



Family Phalaropodid^. Phalaropes. 



There are three known members of this family : one is confined to 

 the interior of North America, the other two may be called Sea Snipe, 

 and are found in the northern parts of the northern hemisphere. The 

 webbed feet of these pelagic species enable them to swim with ease, 

 and during their migrations they may be found in flocks resting upon 

 the sea far from land. Their presence on our shores is largely de- 

 pendent upon the weather, and during severe storms many are some- 

 times found upon our coasts. Contrary to the usual rule, the female 

 in this family is the larger and more brightly colored — indeed, in the 

 domestic economy of the Phalarope household the female is male, ex- 

 cept in the prime essentials of sex. She does the wooing, takes the 

 lead in selecting the nesting site, and, although she lays the eggs, the 

 duties of incubation fall upon the male. 



KEY TO THE SPECIES. 



A. Bill over MO -. 224. Wilson's Phalarope. 



R Bill under 1-10. 



a. Bill very slender; wing under 4-75 . . . 223. Northern Phalarope. 



h. Bill stout ; wing over 4-75 222. Red Phalarope. 



222. Crymophilus fulicarius {Linn.). Red Phalarope; Gray 

 Phalarope. (See Fig. 2ti, a.) Ad. in summer. — Crown and chin fuscous; 

 cheeks white; back black, the feathers bordered with cream-buff; wings 

 gray ; some of the secondaries and tips of greater coverts white ; upper tail- 



