AMERICAN COOT. 293 



by day, as has been reported ; on the other hand, I am pretty well assured 

 that Gallinules and Rails of different species have been confounded with 

 tlie Coot in this respect. 



I never saw this species dive for food, and the only fish that I ever 

 found in the many that I have opened, was vei-y small minnows or fry, 

 which I think they catch along the shallow edges of the water. Indeed, 

 unless when wounded, our Coot feels great reluctance at immersing its 

 body in the water ; at all events, it has not the quickness of any of the 

 diving birds, and rarely escapes the shot of a common flint gun while at- 

 tempting to get away. When wounded it dives to some distance, but as 

 soon as it reaches the grass or reeds, it contents itself with lying flat on 

 the water, and thus swimming to the nearest shore, on reaching which it at 

 once runs ofi^ and hides in the first convenient place. When undisturbed, 

 it feeds both by day and by night, and as often on land as on the water. 

 Its food consists of seeds, grasses, small fishes, worms, snails, and insects, 

 and along with these it introduces into its stomach a good quantity of 

 rather coarse sand. 



The principal breeding places of this species are yet unknown to me. 

 At Charleston it was supposed that it breeds in the neighbourhood of 

 that city ; but my friend Bachman while searching for their nests at the 

 proper season, saw that the Common Gallinule was in fact the bird that 

 had been taken for the Coot. My learned friend Nuttall mentions that 

 a pair had bred in Fresh Pond near Boston, and that he there saw parents 

 and young. Some travelHng lumberers assured me that the Coot breeds 

 in numbers in the lakes lying between Mars Hill in Maine and the St 

 Lawrence River ; but I can find no authentic accounts of its nest having 

 been found in any part of the United States, although some probably 

 breed on the borders of our northern lakes. 



In Louisiana, this species is named Poule (TEau, which is also appHed 

 to Rallus crepitans. In all other parts of the Union, it is known by the 

 names of Mud Hen and Coot. The appellation of " Flusterers"" given to 

 it by Mr Lawson in his History of South Carolina, never came to my 

 ear, during my visits to that State. 



These birds are frequently caught in the nets placed across the bayous 

 of the lakes in the neighbourhood of New Orleans, for the purpose of 

 catching Blue- winged Teals and other Ducks. They come against them 

 while flying, but if the hunter is not extremely quick they make their 

 escape by nimbly scrambling up, using their bill and feet until they reach 



