NORTH AMERICAN EAILS AND THEIR ALLIES. 43 



Fall migration. — The latest birds noted at Point Pelee, Ont., were 

 seen October 9, 1906 (Taverner and Swales); Vicksburg, Mich., 

 average October 1, latest November 16, 1910 (Corwin) ; Oberlin, Ohio, 

 November 11, 1890 (Jones); New Bremen, Ohio, November 16, 1909 

 (Henninger) ; Calumet, 111., October 23, 1876 (specimen in U. S. 

 National Museum); St. Louis, Mo., October 3, 1905 (Widmann); 

 Montreal, Canada, November 5, 1898 (Wintle); Portland, Me., 

 October 15, 1907 (Norton); Cambridge, Mass., November 9, 1898 

 (Hathaway) ; Point Judith, P. I., November 29, 1900 (Hathaway) ; 

 Shelter Island, N. Y., October 28, 1898 (Worthington) ; Washington, 

 D. C, October 26, 1876 (Jouy) ; and Philadelphia, Pa., November 16, 

 1909 (Miller). 



EUROPEAN COOT. Fulica atra Linnaeus. 



Tho normal range of the European coot includes most of Europe, 

 the northern part of Africa, northern and central Asia, India, and 

 southeast to the Philippines. 



A few specimens have been taken in southern Greenland, where it 

 is an accidental visitant. 



COOT. Fulica americana Gmelin. 



Range. — North America from central British Columbia, southern 

 Mackenzie and Quebec, south through the West Indies and Central 

 America to Panama. 



Breeding range. — During the breeding season the coot shuns south- 

 eastern United States and the lower Mississippi Valley, while it breeds 

 abundantly in the same latitudes of western United States and even 

 south in Mexico to Jomatla, Vera Cruz (Sharpe), and Acapulco, 

 Guerrero (Nelson) . There aro more or less isolated breeding colonies 

 on Cozumel Island 3 Yucatan (Sharpe), and the Lake of Duenas, 

 Guatemala (Salvin and Sclater) , while the species is a common breeder 

 in Jamaica (Scott) and in Porto Rico (Wetmore). The coot is a rare 

 breeder along the Atlantic coast, but a few pairs have been known to 

 nest from Philadelphia, Pea. (Miller) , north to Long Island City, N. Y. 

 (Braislin), and according to Nuttall it nested once near Cambridge 

 Mass., but it is not now known to breed anywhere on the New England 

 coast. It has nested &t Lake Bomaseen, Vt. (Howe) , and is a common 

 breeder west of the Aileghenies south to Ithaca, N. Y. (Reed and 

 Wright) , Port Clinton, Ohio (Langdon) , Mount Carmel, 111. (Ridgway) , 

 Reelfoot Lake, Tenn. (Rhoads), and Eureka Springs, Ark. (Smith), 

 whence the breeding range extends southwest through Decatur, Tex. 

 (Donald) to Brownsville, Tex. (Merrill). On the Pacific coast the 

 species breeds south in Lower California to Purisiina (Thayer). It 

 may occasionally breed in southern Louisiana, for some twenty birds 

 were seen June 19, 1914, on the southern side of Lake Ponchartrain 

 (Fisher). 



Northward the coot breeds to Quebec City, Canada (Dionne), 

 Ottawa, Ont. (White), Sudbury, Out. (Alberger), Kelley Brook, Wis. 



