326 



The Crane-like Birds 



study of its anatomy and soft parts. It may be described as a stocky bird about 

 twenty-five inches in length, with a short, very thick bill and exceedingly strong 

 feet and legs. The wings are short and rounded and quite useless for flight, 

 the quills being soft and the webs more or less unconnected. In color it is dark 

 purplish blue, shaded on the back and wings with olive-green, while the bill and 

 legs are red. Nothing is known of its habits beyond the fact that it is very fleet 

 of foot, probably spending most if not all of its life on land. The stomach of 

 the last one taken was filled with small bits of sedge and grass; but the bill 

 appears needlessly strong for securing such a diet, and it seems probable that it 

 feeds on seeds or other hard substances when these are procurable. 



Another species known as the White Swamp-hen (A/", albus) was once found 

 on Norfolk and Lord Howe islands, but is now extinct, only a single specimen 

 being preserved. It was entirely white with the bill and legs red. 



Coots. We now come to the Coots, which are distinguished, as before men- 

 tioned, by the broadly lobed toes which adapt them to a more aquatic life than 



the others. Of the 

 dozen species known, 

 all belong to the 

 genus Fulica, and 

 maybe distinguished 

 by the uniform slaty 

 or plumbeous color, 

 the head and neck 

 being darker, almost 

 black in the adults, 

 the edge of the wing 

 whitish, and the bill 

 usually whitish or 

 yellowish. Although 

 two thirds of the 

 species are natives of 

 the New World, only 

 one, the American 



Coot (F. americana), is found in North America proper, though ^the European 

 species (F. atra) is accidental in Greenland. Our Coot is a bird from 

 thirteen to sixteen inches long and has the bill milk-white, with the terminal 

 portion and the frontal shield dark brown. It is found throughout the whole 

 of North and middle America and most of the West Indies, and in many 

 places is very abundant, going about usually in small parties, occasionally in 

 flocks of large size. They swim well and accompany the motion of the feet 

 by a bobbing motion of the head and neck. They are very noisy birds, 

 having a variety of loud, cackling notes which are frequently uttered. Dr. 

 B. W. Evermann has recently given a good account of their feeding habits 

 as observed on Lake Maxinkuckee, Indiana. They arrived from the North 

 in great numbers early in September and were soon found over all parts of 



FIG. 107. American Coot, Fulica americana. 



