Rail-shooting 299 



covered with short, orange-red papillae ; bill, orange-red ; max- 

 illa, tipped with black ; legs and feet, isabella color. 



Eggs — Six to fifteen in number, light buff, sprinkled with minute 

 specks and dots of dark brown and blackish, measure 1.85 by 

 1.25 inches. 



Habitat — Breeds in the West Indies, Mexico, and Lower California, 

 and in North America in Florida (?), and from Virginia, Penn- 

 sylvania, Kentucky, Louisiana, Texas, and the Mexican border 

 north to New Brunswick, Quebec, Hudson Bay, the Mackenzie 

 River, and British Columbia. Occurs also in Nova Scotia, 

 Labrador, Greenland, and at Fort Yukon, Alaska. Rare east 

 of the Alleghanies, except in fall migration. Winters from Vir- 

 ginia, possibly New Jersey, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois, Mis- 

 souri ( ?), Utah, Nevada, and British Columbia, south to Panama 

 and Trinidad ( ?) . Occurs in Bermuda. 



Widely known as mud-hen ; a common bird 

 throughout temperate North America and rang- 

 ing through the southern countries to northern 

 South America and the West Indies, it breeds 

 generally throughout its range. It is common as 

 far north as the marshes of the Saskatchewan and 

 has even been taken in Greenland and Alaska. 

 The coot is not common on the Atlantic Coast 

 except in the more southern portions ; but in the 

 interior and on the prairie sloughs it swarms, in 

 some instances almost covering them; after the 

 last duck has left the pond the mud-hens remain, 

 and only when obliged, move out of the way. In 

 taking wing the birds run along the surface of 

 the water for a short distance before leaving it, — 

 if there are many of them, with great clatter, — 

 finally rising, when their low flight is marked by 



