MERES. 751 
MR. W. C». CLARKE ON BIRD-LIFE OF THE 
a tew yards distant. The old Coots were, however, visible in 
their nests among the young reeds from end to end of Ring- 
mere, the dark plumage and the white frontal patch being 
most conspicuous against the green. In this environment at 
this stage of the year the Coot has certainly no protective 
colouration. From the high ground on the north-west we were 
able to overlook a Coot’s nest in a reed bed about twenty feet 
from the shore. The old bird was on the nest and four nestlings 
whose scarlet markings contrasted with her black plumage 
climbed over her body and then ran down the sides of the nest, 
swimming round among the reeds and then climbing into the 
ih st again, a per tect picture of a party of irresponsible young- 
sters. The male bird was hiding among the reeds a few yards 
away. When disturbed the old birds paddled away to the 
centre of the mere and left the nestlings quite securely hidden 
among the reeds, where they kept perfectly motionless. 
When the parents came back again the youngsters quickly 
rejoined them and one of the old birds gave two of the family 
some water-weed it had fetched up. There was also a 
number of Coots’ nests round Langmere, six being the largest 
clutch. These nests were mostly built on the dry shore of 
the mere, four or five feet from the edge of the water, where 
there was not the slightest trace of sedge or vegetation more 
than a couple of inches in height. The nests were chiefly 
made of last year’s reeds obtained from the bed of the mere 
and incrusted with mud and lime. Several nests had bracken, 
the nearest of which grew 200 yards distant, but the pieces 
might, of course, have been blown thither. In one case there 
was a nest with six eggs and another with one egg, less than 
two yards apart. In the middle of the west end of the mere 
there was a big Coot’s nest some thirty feet from the shore in 
a small clump of rushes. On the south side of the mere a tiny 
point of land projects into the water, and on this there is 
always a Coot’s nest, last year proving no exception to the 
mle. On Langmere there were about a score Coots and the 
same on Fowl mere, where there were a dozen nests chiefly 
among the reeds in the south-east bay. Here we heard the 
Coot's note of defiance, at being disturbed from its nest. It 
