THE STILT-WALKERS. I 1 1 



before rising into the air, in order to obtain sufficient impetus. Should they endeavour to take flight 

 from the water, they are obliged to flutter along for some distance, striking the surface with the soles 

 of their feet, and splashing along in such a noisy manner that they may be heard at a considerable 

 distance. No sooner have a pair of Coots selected a pond for their residence than they immediately 

 set about the important work of building their nest. On large sheets of water, on which several 

 couples may have taken up their abode, this business is by no means an easy task, as many battles 

 must be fought before the question of appropriated territory is satisfactorily settled ; indeed, in 

 localities where many of these birds have congregated, their shrieking, splashing, and flying about 

 seems interminable ; no sooner does one pair encroach upon the domain of another, than the invaded 

 male at once hastens to the combat, and furious encounters take place, until the enemy is fairly 

 driven away. Sometimes these engagements afford a very interesting spectacle. The battle-field is 

 generally some quiet creek, in which the birds swim around each other, using the arms with which 

 Nature has provided them with all their might, hacking with their bills, striking with their wings, and 

 kicking with their feet, until one or other is compelled to yield. These affairs settled, the labour of 

 building is at once commenced. The nests are placed near the water, either amidst or upon aquatic 

 plants that there abound ; sometimes they are raised upon a bed of reeds or similar matter, or float 

 upon the surface of the pool. The foundation of the nest is generally laid with dry reeds and stubble, 

 while the upper part is formed of finer material and more carefully arranged, the interior is snugly 

 lined with soft hay, rushes, and leaves. The eggs, from seven to fifteen in number, are smooth-shelled, 

 but lustreless. The female does not begin to sit until the last egg is laid ; the young make their 

 appearance in about twenty-one days ; when first hatched they are beautiful little creatures, clad in 

 dark-coloured down, with flaming red heads. They at once betake themselves to the water, where 

 they are carefully fed, tended, and valorously defended by both the parent birds. At first they 

 seem to prefer to keep themselves hidden among the reeds, but at night they retire to the nest. As 

 they get stronger they become more independent, and even before they are fully fledged are well able 

 to provide for themselves. Although the flesh of the Coots is scarcely eatable, they are nevertheless 

 frequently killed for the sake of the sport. In Italy great numbers are caught by means of nets,, and 

 they are commonly sold in the markets at a very low price. 



THE COMMON COOT. 



The Common Coot (Ftdica atra) very closely resembles the Water-hens, except in the peculiar 

 construction of its feet. Its body is powerfully framed and slightly compressed at the sides ; the neck 

 is of moderate length, and the head rather large ; the beak is conical, compressed at the sides, and 

 lias its sharp cutting margins slightly denticulated. The callosity upon the forehead is large ; the foot 

 moderately high, strong, compressed at the sides, and furnished with long toes, each of which is fringed 

 laterally with a broad expansion of the skin divided into lobes. The wings are of moderate length, 

 with their second and third quills longer than the rest ; the tail consists of fourteen or sixteen quills, 

 and is very short, being almost entirely hidden by its covers. The plumage, which is of extraordinary 

 thickness, is almost entirely of a uniform slaty-black; the head and neck, however, are darker, and 

 the breast and belly lighter than the rest of the body. The eyes are light red, the beak and callosity 

 on the brow pure white, and the feet lead-grey, merging towards the heel into a reddish green. In 

 young birds the plumage on the under side of the body is light grey mixed with black, and the 

 mantle tinged with an olive shade. This species is eighteen inches long, and thirty broad ; the 

 wing measures nine, and the tail three inches. 



The Common Coot is a native of Europe, and is met with in all parts of that continent ; it has 

 also been seen during the winter in Central Asia, and the interior of Africa. In Germany it is found 



