212 COOT. 



tin; back and scapulars dirty greenish olive; shoulders, breast, 

 and wing-coverts, slate blue; the under parts are hoary; vent 

 black; beneath the tail pure white; primaries and secondaries 

 slate, the former tipped with black, the latter with white, which 

 does not appear when the wing is closed; outer edges of the 

 wings white; legs and toes yellowish green, the scalloped mem- 

 brane of the latter lead colour: middle toe, including the claw, 

 three inches and three-quarters long. 



The bird from which the foregoing description was taken, 

 was shot on the Delaware, below Philadelphia, the 29th of Oc- 

 tober, 1813. It was an old male, an uncommonly fine speci- 

 men, and weighed twenty-three ounces avoirdupois. It is de- 

 posited in Peale's Museum. 



The young birds differ somewhat in their plumage, that of the 

 head and neck being of a brownish black; that of the breast and 

 shoulders pale ash; the throat gray or mottled; the bill bluish 

 white; and the membrane on the forehead considerably smaller. 



The young females very much resemble the young males; all 

 the difference which I have been enabled to perceive is as fol- 

 lows: breast and shoulders cinereous; markings on the bill less; 

 upper parts of the head, in some specimens, mottled; and being 

 less in size. 



The lower parts of these birds are clothed with a thick down, 

 and, particularly between the thighs, covered with close fine 

 feathers. The thighs are placed far behind, are fleshy, strong, 

 and bare above the knees. 



The gizzard resembles a hen's, and is remarkably large and 

 muscular. That of the bird which has been described, was fill- 

 ed with sand, gravel, shells, and the remains of aquatic plants. 



Buffon describes the mode of shooting Coots in France, par- 

 ticularly in Lorraine, on the great pools of Tiaucourt and of In- 

 dre; hence we are led to suppose that they are esteemed as an 

 article of food. But with us who are enabled, by the abundance 

 and variety of game, to indulge in greater luxuries in that sea- 

 son when our Coots visit us, they are considered as of no ac- 

 count, and are seldom eaten. 



