259 



OF THE WATER-HEN AND THE COOT. 



Before we enter upon what are properly called wa» 

 ter-fozcls, it may not be amiss to turn our attention to 

 those which form a shade between ; these partake 

 rather of the form than the habits of the crane, 

 and, though furnished with long legs and necks, are 

 known to swim instead of wade. The birds alluded to, 

 are the water-hen and coot, which, though they can- 

 not properly be called web-footed, have a membranous 

 fringe on each side their toes, by which they are en- 

 abled to float upon the stream. 



Though these birds are formed with a striking simi- 

 larity, and in their colour, which is black, they are 

 perfectly the same, except that the bald part of the 

 forehead in the coot is black, whilst in the water-hen 

 it is pink, peculiarly bright. These birds, that inform 

 bear so strict a resemblance, differ exceedingly in size, 

 as the water-hen weighs but sixteen ounces, but the 

 coot at least twenty-tour : the wings and bills of both 

 are proportionably short, and differ from the generality 

 of those of the crane-kind ; they therefore are never 

 known to migrate, as their wings are by no means 

 calculated for flight. 



. The water-hen seems, in some degree, domestic, as 

 she generally resides near the side of a pond ; but the 

 coot appears to prefer a rapid river, from possessing a 

 much larger portion of strength, yet, from these ex- 

 cursions, is often destroyed by the otter, or taken in 

 those wires which are placed for the fish. The nest is 

 formed upon the margin of a river, amongst the reeds 

 that are continually wetted by the stream, and the 

 young ones seem to be formed by the assistance of 



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