454 BIRDS OF SOMERSETSHIRE. 



often watched these birds feeding on the weed, for 

 which they constantly dive with great ease and stay 

 down for some considerable time : I have also often 

 watched them feeding on the short grass on the lawn 

 by the side of the pond, cropping it off with the 

 sides of the beak, turning their heads first, on one 

 side and then on the other, so as to bring the sides 

 of the beak on a level with the gress. 



Amongst the Coots that occasionally pay me a 

 short visit in the winter I have never noticed the 

 extreme shyness spoken of by some authors ; on the 

 contrary, they stay about with the tame wild-fowl, 

 and do not seem to object to being watched when 

 feeding either on the water or the land. 



Except for the bald head the Coot would be a very 

 dull-looking bird, but the bald patch on the forehead, 

 which is pure white, enlivens the general appearance 

 very much. The beak also is white, except a small 

 portion at the base, which is tinged with pink ; 

 irides crimson ; nearly the whole of the plumage is 

 a dull dark lead-grey ; the head and upper part of 

 the neck are darker than the rest, rather inclining to 

 black : the under parts are lighter than the upper, 

 more inclining to grey, especially in young birds ; 

 the primary quills are dark dusky, nearly black ; the 

 secondaries the same, but tipped with white ; the 

 legs, toes and membranes are dark green, except a 

 narrow ring of orange just below the feathered part 

 of the thigh. These membranes are rather curious 



