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Look at those coots flying along the "bank right in front of us. 



See how the coot stretches his feet out behind hiln ^vith his toes 

 turned upward? He uses his feet as a rudder in place of that useless little 

 tail . 



And notice how that pointed, ivor---white bill gleams in the sun- 

 light against that black head? And see the white tips on some of those 



feathers. You can tell a coot from a duck every time by the feathers and 

 bill. 



There goes another shot and another and another I 



Look at those three birds falling to the groundl I guess they are all 

 ducks. None are coots. 



Host hunters don't shoot coots. They look upon a coot about like a 

 •possum hunter looks upon a skunk. If they take home a coot, they're afraid 

 they'll get the horse laugh. 



That's unfortunate, too. For in many places the coot is more plenti- 

 ful than the duck. Dr. 17. B. Bell, in the Bureau of Biological Survey, tells 

 me waterfowl of all kinds have been having a rather tough time during the last 

 year or so. Farming and other industries have been draining out some of the 

 waterfowl concentration areas. And the drought dried up some of the breeding 

 grounds. In order to save our waterfowl. Uncle San cut the open season last 

 year from three and; ■ialf months to one month and this year made it two months. 

 But, through all of the drought and draining work, the coot has fared better 

 than the duck. The prejudice against the coot has spared it from the hunter's 

 gun. 



I asked Dr. Sell how he explained the prejudice against the coot. 



Dr. Bell says folks used to think a coot wasn't fit to eat. They 

 thought the neat had a strong, unpleasant flavor. But, if you know how to fix 

 it, coot makes a miglity fine dish. 



A couple of years ago, a group of prominent sportsmen and conservation- 

 ists attended a dinner in one of the larger cities in Oklahoma. They ate v/hat 

 they thought wae duck. The meat was good. They asked for second helpings. 

 After the plates had been cleared away, those men got a big surprise. The 

 meat wasn't duck meat at all. They had been eating coot, or as some people 

 say, mud hen. 



I won't try to give you full details on how to prepare coot. For the 

 most part, you cook a coot just like you do a chicken or a duck. But, here's 



a little secret axid an inportant one. The strong, unpleasant flavor of coot 



that you heax so much about is only skin-deep. If you pull off the skin and 



soak the meat in salt water or soda water for a few hours before you cook it 



you will have a fine dish. You won't be able to tell it from duck any more 



than the men could at the Oklahoma dinner. 



So, the next time you go giinning for waterfowl, get acquainted with the 

 coots. Include a' few of them in your game bag. You'll have just as much 

 sport shooting a coot as you would a duck. By shooting coots instead of 

 ducks, you will give the ducks a chance to recover from the drought and over- 



