256 OUTDOOR LIFE IN ENGLAND 



being accused of being enemies to a fishery. It 

 is an altogether different matter when they are 

 destroyed for purposes of sport and for food, 

 though whether regarded as a pest or a fit object 

 for sport doubtless matters but little as far as the 

 bird itself is concerned. 



The coot, the bald-headed coot, as it is often 

 termed, by reason of the patch of white on its 

 forehead, is by no means as common as I re- 

 member it some thirty years ago. In some parts 

 of England it was then nearly as plentiful as the 

 moor-hen, and was frequent in most of our larger 

 rivers and ponds. It is supposed that this diminu- 

 tion in its numbers is due to the increased amount 

 of land which has been reclaimed and drained. 

 This may possibly be a partial cause, but, never- 

 theless, it is but rarely to be seen nowadays in those 

 streams in which it was formerly abundant. I am 

 inclined to the supposition that the gun has had 

 more to do with its present scarcity than drainage 

 and reclamation of marshlands, since it was in 

 the rivers, ponds, and lakes that it was invariably 

 to be found, in preference to swampy lands inter- 

 sected and fed by the smaller streams. During 

 very severe weather it migrates to the sea-coast, 

 but is a resident in this country. In some few 

 counties it is said to be still fairly common, this 

 being doubtless due to its preservation. It is 

 longer than the moor-hen by five inches, and 

 is an altogether more powerful bird, and in- 

 finitely more wary. It is also accused of eating 



