138 



Genus II.— FULICA, Linn. COOT. 



Bill as long as the head, nearly straight, stout, deep, compressed, tapering; 

 upper mandible with a soft ovate or oblong tumid plate at the base, 

 extending over the forehead, the dorsal line declinate, toward the tip arcuate, 

 the ridge narrowed to the middle, then slightly enlarged, the sides nearly 

 erect, the edges sharp, the notches obsolete, the tip rather obtuse; nasal sinus 

 extending nearly to the middle; lower mandible with the angle rather long 

 and narrow, the dorsal line ascending, nearly straight, the sides nearly erect, 

 the tip narrow. Nostrils submedial, lateral, linear, direct. Head small, 

 oblong, compressed; neck of moderate length, slender; body full, com- 

 pressed. Feet large; tibia bare at the lower part; tarsus stout, of moderate 

 length, compressed, with very broad anterior scutella; hind toe rather small 

 and slender; anterior toes very long, their margins dilated into flat lobes; the 

 hind toe with a single inferior lobe. Claws of moderate length, slightly 

 arched, much compressed, acute. Plumage blended, soft. Wings short, 

 broad, convex, with the second quill longest. Tail very short, much 

 rounded, of twelve weak feathers; lower coverts nearly as long. Gizzard 

 extremely muscular; coeca very long, being a fifth part of the length of the 

 intestine. 



THE AMERICAN COOT. 



-tFulica Americana, G?}iel. 



PLATE CCCV.— Male. 



From November until the middle of April the Coots are extremely 

 numerous in the southern parts of the Floridas, and the lower portions of 

 Louisiana. At that season they are seen in flocks of several hundreds, 

 following their avocations on all the secluded bayous, grassy lakes, and 



