COOT. 
FULICA ATllA. 
r f V f n r' Eoss-shire. and the adjoining counties, as well as on the 1, roads of 
«.e east of Wolk, I have remarked that wherever the Coot was found in any numbers during summer, lat-e 
n 1; f nigblands in many respects greatly resemble those in the flat 
d tuets of the east of England: a weedy bottom tvith shallow w-ater eharaoterises the pools that prove so 
a tract, ve to d.nng fowl in both localities; large beds of reed with sedge, flags, and other luxuriant water- 
plants spring up m a dense mass round the edges and afford a retreat in many instances utterly i,npenet.-able 
A stretch of swamps and rush-grown marshlands, interspersed here and there with small patches of alder and 
osier. W.1 be found m the vicinity of the broads ; while waving bogs, rank heather, and coarse grass, with an 
occasional straggling thicket of ilr or birch, for the most part form the immediate surroundings in the north 
The shores of the majority of the nighland lochs do not offer suitable breeding-quarters for Coots, and 
consequently his species is by no means common, though widely distributed, in the north. There are, how-ever 
on he Tay, the Spey, and some of the branches of the Shin, as well as on most largo rivers, still and reedy 
pools where at all seasons (except, probably, the depth of winter) a few pairs of these birds may be noticed 
In addition to the great nurseries of Coots in the eastern and one or two of the southern counties of En-land' 
us species is found in all parts of the country where sheltered ponds and sluggish rivers or streams affordim^ 
suflieient cover are met with. AVhen free from persecution these birds become remarkably fearless, thou-li a 
s larp look-out is usually kept. Passengers on many of our lines of railway must have noticed the contempt 
with w hich the passing trams are treated by the Coots and Moorhens resorting to the pools of water within 
only a few yards of the rails. 
In open weather Coots may usually be seen during the whole winter in the neighbourhood of their 
summer haunts; a long spell of severe frost, however, drives them to tlie coast or the tidal rivers. On 
the lai^e broads of the eastern counties the water immediately surrounding the reed-heds is generally first 
attected by frost; as the cold increases, the open water gradually diminishes, leaving only here and there a few 
wakes , m and around which the starving birds collect. At times when the whole broad is “ laid ”t I have 
watched the Coots gathered together in a silent and desponding manner in one or two large parties— each 
unfortunate standing frequently on one leg, with the feathers puffed out and the head drawn back, every 
member of tlie group presenting a picture of patient and helpless misery. Should the frost continue, the 
whole body are shortly forced, through want of food, to change their quarters and make a move for the 
nearest open watci-, wliether fresh or salt. 
* A “ wake ” is the local name given to a piece of water either kept open by the action of the wind, or broken and cleared by the keepers for 
the accommodation of the tame swans. 
t The broad is termed ‘‘ laid” b}’ the natives when entirely frozen over. 
