146 THE BIRDS OF MAINE 



anchored to the rushes in a reedy lake were taken at Havana, 

 Illinois, June 28, 1891. These eggs measure 1.72 x 1.20, 1.65 

 X 1.20, 1.72 X 1.14, 1.66x1.23, 1.80x1.24, 1.68x1.15, 1.65 

 X 1.12, 1.74x1.23, 1.75 X 1.20. 



The food of the birds consists of small worms, tadpoles, slugs, 

 snails, some water plants such as duckweed, and similar stuff. 

 They are good swimmers, and their progress through the water 

 is timed by a peculiar bobbing motion of their heads. The 

 alarm note is a peculiar "keck". They also utter various 

 "clucks" and carry on quite animated conversations. When 

 alarmed while out in the open water they quickly rise and fly 

 into the shelter of the weeds, their feet hanging down and often 

 kicking as if to aid their progress. 



/ 9; 



Subfamily FULICIN^. Coots. 

 Genus FULICA Linnaeus. 



221. Fulica amerkanii Gmel, American Coot; Mud-hen. 



Plumage of adults: bill whitish save for two brownish spots near its tip; 

 frontal plate brownish and bare of feathers ; head and neck nearly black ; 

 edge of wing, tips of secondaries, and under tail coverts white ; otherwise 

 bluish slate color and slightly paler below ; legs and feet greenish ; toes 

 lobed. Immature plumage : crown plate smaller; plumage below much suf- 

 fused with whitish ; bill more olive greenish ; slight brownish wash to back 

 feathers. Downy young : white below and darkish above ; throat and head 

 with numerous orange hair-like feathers ; lores and bill red, the latter black 

 tipped. Wing 7.10 to 7.50 ; culmen 1.40 ; tarsus 2.15. 



Geog. Dist. — North America from Greenland and Alaska south to the West 

 Indies and Veragua ; breeds locally throughout its range but is not known to 

 breed in Maine. 



County Records. — Androscoggin; migrant, (Johnson). Cumberland; 

 frequent spring and fall, (Lord); rare in northern county, (Mead). Han- 

 cock; migrant, (Murch). Kennebec; (Dill). Knox; rare migrant, (Rack- 

 liff). Oxford; visitant, (Nash). Penobscot; not frequent in fall, (Knight). 

 Sagadahoc; common in fall, (Spinney). Somerset; rare migrant, (Morrell). 

 Washington; not uncommon, (Boardman). 



This species occurs chiefly in October and November, and 



very seldom indeed in April and May. It is most generally 



reported along the coast, but probably also occurs locally 



