600 



THE RAILS 



putting up coots from a stubble field, and watching them rise one 

 after the other "like pheasants," clear a 10 to 12 foot hedge, and 

 drop with a heavy splash into the water beyond. 1 These birds were, 



I. 



LEFT HIND TOE OF COOT 

 SEEN FROM OUTSIDE. 

 SCALE, . 



LEFT FOOT OF COOT FROM 

 UNDERSIDE. SCALE, 

 NATURAL SIZE. 



perhaps, gleaning, for the species is partial to grain, though it does 

 not appear to seek it often. Only a small part of its food is obtained 

 on land grasses, insects, slugs, and a few early worms. Its favourite 



1 Birds of Oxfordshire, p. 140. For several additional instances, see Naumann, Vogel Mittel- 

 europas, vii. 127. 



