DESCRIPTIVE LIST 



115 



County, one taken in 1892; Buncombe County, one killed by Cairns, May 16, 1891; 

 one seen alive in a store-window at Asheville, by Brewster, May, 1885; one caught 

 alive in Wake County by Bruner, April 20, 1907; and, finally, an immature speci- 

 men picked up dead on the streets of Raleigh on September 21, 1918. This lat- 

 ter specimen showed a shot- wound, on being skinned; it was perfectly fresh and 

 excessively fat. 



Genus Fulica (Linn.) 



96. Fulica americana (Gmel). COOT. 



Ads. Head and neck blackish; rest of plumage dark, bluish, slate-color, paler below; edge 

 of wing, tips of secondaries, and under tail-coverts white; bill whitish, two spots near its tip 

 and crown-plate brownish; legs and feet greenish; toes with scalloped flaps. Im. Similar, 

 but much whiter below, a slight brownish wash above; crown-plate much smaller. Downy 

 young. Blackish, white below; throat and upperparts with numerous bright orange, hairlike 

 feathers; lores red; bill red, tipped with black. L., 15.00; W., 7.50; Tar., 2.25; B., from pos- 

 terior margin of nostril, .80. 



FIG. 77. COOT. 



FIG. 78. FOOT OF COOT. 



Remarks. The Coot bears a general resemblance to the Florida Gallinule, but, aside from 

 the differences in color, the scalloped feet of the Coot will always serve to distinguish it. 

 (Chap., Birds of E. N. A.) 



Range. Breeds from southern Canada to New Jersey and California; winters from Virginia 

 to Columbia. 



Range in North Carolina. Common in the coastal region in winter; occasional in the rest 

 of the State during the migrations. 



This is the "Blue Peter," so abundant as a winter visitor in our sounds and large 

 lakes. During the spring and fall it is not uncommon to see one or more on small 

 ponds about the State. Nearly every migration season specimens are brought to 

 us for identification by persons who find them on the ground helpless after a stormy 



