FLORIDA GALLINULE 243 



heads in the same manner when walking. 

 They are good runners and in case of danger 

 have a great talent at disappearing; like their 

 cousins, the rails, they are more prone to run 

 and skulk than to fly. They are fairly good 

 swimmers, as well, sitting lightly and easily on 

 the water, keeping up the motion of their heads 

 and flirting their tails up and down in rail 

 fashion as they go. They are feeders upon 

 both animal and vegetable matter, the grass 

 seeds and the worms and snails of the bogs be- 

 ing equally acceptable to them. 



Most of their traveling is done at night. It 

 is even said that their migrations (must we be- 

 lieve this?) are performed on foot — a sort of 

 feathered ''tramp." Their legs are stout, and 

 except that the toes are long, slender and with- 

 out lobes, as in the rails, and that the bird is 

 somewhat smaller, it closely resembles the 

 "coot," or ''mud hen," so well known to duck 

 hunters. The long toes spreading out over a 

 comparatively wide surface so distribute the 

 weight of the bird that it can run with the 

 greatest ease over the broad-leaved water 

 plants and matted floating grasses. 



In its breeding dress the Florida Gallinule 



