COMMON COOT. 143 



" They are generally sold for eighteen -pence a couple, 

 previously to which they are what is called cleaned. The 

 recipe for this is, after picking them, to take off all the 

 black down, by means of powdered resin and boiling 

 water, and then to let them soak all night in cold spring 

 water; by which they are made to look as white and 

 as delicate as a chicken, and to eat tolerably well ; but, 

 without this process, the skin in roasting produces a sort of 

 oil, with a fishy taste and smell ; and if the skin be taken off, 

 the bird becomes dry, and good for nothing. A Coot shot 

 in the morning, just after roosting, is worth three killed in 

 the day when full of grass, because he will then be whiter, 

 and milder in flavour. A Poole man is very particular 

 about this, as the sale of his Coots much depends on it." 



The Coot, as observed by Sir William Jardine and Mr. 

 Selby, is a summer visitor to Scotland. Dr. Neill and Mr. 

 Dunn mention it as visiting occasionally the lochs of some 

 of the islands of Orkney. It is found during summer on 

 the coasts of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway, going as far 

 as the Faroe Islands, and even to Iceland, as noticed by 

 Faber and other authorities, but not farther to the west ; 

 the Coot of North America and the United States is now 

 known to be a different species. Our Coot is found in 

 Russia and the eastern parts of Siberia, according to Pen- 

 nant. It is very abundant in Holland, and on the lakes 

 and rivers of Germany, France, Switzerland, Spain, Pro- 

 vence, and Italy. Dr. Heineken includes the Coot among 

 the Birds of Madeira. It is found in Sicily, at Malta, 

 and Tunis. Mr. Strickland saw it at Smyrna ; the Zoo- 

 logical Society have received specimens from Trebizond ; 

 and the Coot of India, China, Japan, and the island of 

 Sunda, is said to be identical with the Coot of Europe. 



The beak is of a pale rose-red, or flesh-colour ; the patch 

 on the forehead naked, and pure white ; hence the name of 



