300 The Water-fowl Family 



a whir of wings. On the water they are excellent 

 swimmers and good divers, occasionally obtain- 

 ing their food from shallow bottom. This con- 

 sists of various grasses and vegetable matter, 

 snails and little shellfish, a diet which is not 

 conducive to excellency. The flesh of the bird is 

 dark and unpalatable. The nest is among reeds 

 and grasses close to the water, loosely constructed 

 of rushes; it is quite a bulky structure and con- 

 tains from ten to fifteen eggs. The coot is often 

 seen in company with the different varieties of 

 ducks, the ducks in some instances feeding on the 

 water grasses and vegetable matter the mud-hens 

 bring up. In April this species is the most 

 abundant bird on the lagoons and marshy lakes 

 along the Gulf Coast of Mexico, occurring in vast 

 flocks, covering, in some instances, an acre or 

 more. The natives regularly salt the flesh for 

 food, preferring to hunt them rather than ducks 

 because of the numbers that can be killed at a 

 shot. On one occasion I saw twenty-eight picked 

 up after a single barrel. On the large sounds 

 south of Tampico, we were wakened regularly 

 through the night by flocks suddenly leaving the 

 water ; the noise made under these circumstances 

 was great. The birds were startled by alligators, 

 which were numerous everywhere and undoubtedly 

 preyed upon the mud-hens. In one instance this 

 performance was seen. 



