520 cooT. 
St. Petersburg. Southward it is generally distributed over Europe 
down to the Mediterranean, where, owing to the arrival of migrants 
from the north, its numbers in winter are sometimes enormous. In 
the south of the Spanish Peninsula its breeding-range touches that 
of the Crested Coot, & cristata, a species which has two bright red 
caruncles on the frontal plate. This is the resident representative 
throughout Africa ; in winter, however, our bird visits the Azores, 
Madeira, and the Canaries, swarms upon the waters of North Africa 
and Egypt, and reaches the Blue Nile. Eastward it can be traced 
across temperate Asia to China and Japan, and it nests, sparingly, 
as far south as Kashmir and the plains of Northern India; while 
in the cold season multitudes are found on the lakes of Sind, as well 
as in Burma. The range of this species extends to Java; while 
its representative in North America differs chiefly in having a 
large amount of white on the under tail-coverts. 
The nests are strong and compact structures of dry flags, and are 
usually raised from six to twelve inches above the water on founda- 
tions of reeds or tufts of rushes, some of them being so firm as to 
support the weight of a man seated when up to the knees in water ; 
they are, I believe, often utilized in Spain by the Marsh-Harrier. The 
eggs, 7-10 in number, are stone-colour, minutely speckled with dark 
brown: measurements 2 by 175 in. The young, which are often 
hatched early in April, leave the nest after three or four days and 
follow their parents. In winter, when Coots are in large flocks, they 
protect themselves against birds of prey by throwing up water with 
their feet ; while they are at all times remarkably wary, for which 
reason their company is much sought by water-fowl, as they give the 
alarm by day, when many of the latter are asleep. Hawker says, 
“Tf a gentleman wishes to have plenty of wild-fowl on his pond, let 
him preserve the Coots, and keep no tame Swans.” The flight of 
the Coot is powerful when fairly on the wing, the legs being stretched 
out behind like those of a Heron; while a wounded bird will scratch 
like a cat. The food consists of aquatic insects, worms, slugs, 
weeds and other vegetable substances. 
The adult has the beak of a pale flesh-colour; the naked patch 
on the forehead pure white—whence the name Bald ‘ Coot’; irides 
crimson ; plumage sooty-black below and dark slate-grey above, 
with a narrow white bar across the wing; legs, toes and webs dark 
green. Length 15 in. ; wing 8°5 in. In the young bird the frontal 
patch is smaller, the throat is nearly white, and the under parts are 
grey. 
