COOTS 93 



old cattail flags and dry grasses, and placed among rushes, 

 reeds, or bushes growing in water. 



Food habits.— Aixduhon states that the food of this gallinule 

 consists of grasses, seeds, water insects, worms, and snails. 

 The stomach of one taken in Alabama contained ground-up 

 remains of hornwort (Ceratophytlum), fragments of uni- 

 valves, and a few caddisfly cases. 



COOT; POULE-D'EAU : FiMca americana Gmelin. 



State records. — The coot is a common winter resident and 

 an abundant migrant in Alabama. On the coast it is uni- 

 versally known by its Creole name, "potde d'eau," but in the 

 interior it is called "water-guinea" (McCormack) or "fool- 

 hen" (Avery). In Chuckvee Bay, February 7, 1912, about 

 50 were seen, and on March 16, in the same place, a flock num- 

 bering 150 or 200. In Polecat Bay, November 10, 1915, there 

 were 50 or more, and in Duckers Bay, December 3-4, 1915, a 

 flock of at least 400. On Petit Bois Island, February 12, 

 1912, the birds were common, and on November 24, 1915, they 

 were present in smaller numbers. On Oxford Lake, a small 

 artificial lake near Anniston, I observed on October 22, 1916, 

 a flock of about 15 coots; the superintendent of the park 

 stated that they had been there throughout the previous sum- 

 mer, but whether they bred there is not known. McCormack 

 has observed the coot at Leighton between February 6 and 

 May 12, and once in fall, October 26, 1893. Avery records it 

 as a spring and autumn migrant and mentions a specimen 

 taken at Greensboro, October 29, 1890, which could not fly, 

 having settled during migration in a fence corner.j- Golsan 

 and Holt report it abundant in migrations on the Alabama 

 River near Montgomery, a few remaining throughout the win- 

 ter.J 



The northward migration takes place chiefly during March 

 and April, but a few linger into May. On May 9, 1911, in 

 Polecat Bay, near Mobile, I saw a flock of 20 ; on May 12 I 

 shot a single bird in Chuckvee Bay and another, which showed 

 no signs of breeding, in Tensaw River, near Stockton, May 27, 



tAmer. Field, toI. 34, p. 584, 1890. 

 JThe Auk, vol. 81, p. 218, 1914. 



