HISTORY OF CALIFORNIA. 375 



Bpecies of this subgenus tliey are here known by the 

 appellation of Coots, and these are distinguished by 

 the name of the White-Winged kind. Whether from 

 their nocturnal habits or what other cause, I cannot 

 pretend to say, when they have been seen in Fresh 

 Pond, which they sometimes visit, at least the young, 

 their heads have been observed nodding, as though 

 they were oppressed by sleep ; and we sometimes here 

 have a saying of being as sleepy as a Coot. The 

 flesh of the old bird is strong, dark, and sedgy, yet 

 they are much sought after in this quarter, and often 

 exposed for sale in the market, particularly the young 

 birds whose flavor is more tolerable. They arrive in 

 New England from the north about the close of Sep- 

 tember, and according to Richardson, spend some 

 time on the coasts of Hudson Bay and the lakes of 

 the interior previous to their departure for the south.* 

 The Cormorant [Phalacrocorax carho). This uncouth 

 and gluttonous bird is plentiful on the rocky shores 

 of Great Britain, Holland, France, and Germany. 

 On the shores of the Caspian they are sometimes seen 

 in vast flocks, and are frequent on Lake Baikal. 

 They inhabit China, the coast of the Gape of Good 

 Hope, and are common in the Phillippine Islands, 

 New Holland, New Zealand, and other neighboring 

 regions. At Nootka Sound, and in Kamtschatka 

 they have been observed by various navigators ; and 

 are found in North America, from Hudson Bay and 

 Labrador, to the coasts of Carolina and Georgia. They 

 are not however common in the central parts of the 

 United States, though they penetrate into the interior 

 as far as the Missouri liiver. They breed, and are 



• NuttalJ. 



