400 FEATHERED GAME 



number of this species nesting in northern Lab- 

 rador. The Butter-billed Coot is entirely 

 black save the nugget of gold which it so care- 

 fully balances upon its nose. The base of the 

 bill* is bright orange yellow, the rest plain black 

 to conform to the sad hue of its raiment. Iris 

 brown; feet blackish in male; olivaceous with 

 black webs in young male and female. 



The female is a trifle smaller than the male 

 and of dusky brown color; bill lacking the gib- 

 bosity of the male and entirely black. Length 

 of this species from seventeen to twenty inches ; 

 extent from thirty to thirty-four inches. 



Young or female birds in any stage of de- 

 velopment may be recognised (aside from color 

 of iris) by the fact that the feathering stops 

 short on the bill, not coming down nearly to the 

 nostrils on top as in the other species. 



THE WHITE-WINGED COOT. '^ WHITE- 

 WING." 



Oidemia deglandi.) 



Best known and most numerous of the three 

 is the ''White-winged Coot," known also as 

 the ''White-winged Scoter," "Velvet Duck,- 



