THE COOT. 387 



grey-black, with dark olive brown mantle, underneath 

 more grey ; ridge of the wing and under tail coverts 

 white. In the old birds the naked patch on the fore- 

 head, as well as the beak (all except the yellow tip) 

 bright red ; legs green ; naked space on the tibia red. 

 The female can only be known by the smaller plate on 

 the forehead, and paler colours. 



In the young, beak and forehead plate are brown-green ; 

 tip of the beak olive green. Must be rare in Sweden, for I 

 never met with one. Is, however, sparingly dispersed over 

 the whole country, with the exception of, perhaps, the far 

 north. 



Gen. Fulicd L. 



Characters much the same as in the last, but the front 

 toes are very long, and bordered by a broad scalloped mem- 

 brane. 



216. FULICA ATEA, L. Sothona. The Coot. D. F. 



Forehead plate, and beak white ; whole body plumage 

 black ; under tail coverts black, a white band over the 

 wing; length 18 in. ; tarsus 2 in. 3 1. ', beak 1 in. 31.; 

 the female a little smaller. 



Is about as common as the last. I never met with either. 

 It seems, however, to have a wide northerly range, for 

 according to Sommerfeldt, two young coots were shot at 

 Vardo, near the North Cape, in 1857. I have more than 

 once heard of their being shot in South Wermland. Strange 

 to say that Sommerfeldt mentions in his list two coots, both 

 young birds, being shot near the North Cape in October, 

 1857. 



Fam. 5. HYGEOBATJ]. 



Beak long and thin ; legs thin ; front toes united as far 

 as the first joint, after that, lobed as in the coot and phala- 

 ropes, or webbed to the points of the toes, as in the avocet ; 

 sexes alike in plumage ; all summer migrants to the north. 



Gen. Phalaropus, Briss. 

 Beak long, straight, round ; nasal furrow extending the 



