Music of the Wild 



vety blackness. He has full brilliant eyes, and a 

 beak by ^vhich he can be identified. The mandi- 

 bles are close the length of a duck's, but pointed 

 and rather sharp, of a beautifvd white, with opal- 

 escent tints of pale pink and salmon. The nos- 

 trils are long- and shari^ly cut, and a narrow, 

 rufous band bridges the upper part, lapping on 

 each side of the lower. His make-up displays 

 two unusual and comical attempts at decoration. 

 At the base of the upper mandible the coot wears 

 a large frontal jdate of bright chestnut, and the 

 under side of the sliort tail is lined with white. 

 Aside from these, in his dark robe and black 

 co^wl he is in dress the jslainest resident of the 

 marsh. 



During the breeding season the male bird lines 

 off his nesting location and swims around close 



Young his mate, guarding, and keeping her company. 



Trum- -^y^^g -|-Q .^,jy ijjj.j ^\^^^ encroaches on the invisible 

 boundary! Coots nest beside the water in the tall 

 marsh grasses, and lay from six to ten large, yel- 

 lo\\'ish-brown eggs, heavily dotted with darker 

 spots on the larger end. The young, hatched after 

 three weeks' brooding, take to the water as soon 

 as their down is dry. In an unexpectedly short 

 time they become self-supporting, and. with the 

 addition of their baliv chatter to the sweUino: vol- 

 ume of tlieir elders', form a conspicuous feature 

 of marsh music. No doubt your boat has shot past 



378 



peters 



