THE COOT 



brown, the secondaries being tipped with white, forming 

 a bar across the wings. Bill pale pink, shading into white 

 at the tip ; frontal shield white ; tarsi and lobed toes 

 olive, the tarsal joint orange ; irides crimson. Length 

 14! inches. The young in first plumage have the upper 

 parts olive-brown and the under parts nearly white. 

 The young in down are rich black, with a few white 

 tips to some of the filaments. 



307 



