GALLINULINiE. GALLINULA. FULICA. 117 
214 . Gallinula Chloropus. Green-footed Gallinule. 
Plumage of the head, neck, and lower parts dark grey, of 
the hack and wings deep olive-brown ; edge of the wing and 
lower tail-coverts white ; oblong frontal plate and bill to be- 
yond the*nostrils crimson-red, the tips greenish-yellow; feet 
dull green, with a ring of bright red on the tibia. Young 
similar, but with the frontal plate small, and the feathers of 
the lower parts edged with white. 
Male, 13, 22, 7, If, 2, 2 A, T V Female, 12^, 20J. 
This bird is found in all parts of Britain and Ireland that 
are adapted to its nature ; that is, in marshy places, pools, 
lakes, still streams, mill-dams, and even ditches, where it 
searches for food chiefly among the reeds and other aquatic 
plants along the shores. It swims with great ease and ele- 
gance, sitting lightly on the water, with its neck erect, and 
its tail obliquely raised ; dives with equal facility, and on 
land runs with great speed. "When surprised it dives and re- 
mains concealed with only the bill above the surface, or hides 
among the herbage or under a bank. It often perches on 
stumps or trunks of willows, on which also it sometimes forms 
its nest, which, however, is usually placed on the ground, 
among reeds, or in the water, and is very bulky. The eggs, 
from six to eight or ten, are ovate or nearly elliptical, an inch 
and three-fourths in length, an inch and a quarter in breadth, 
pale greyish-yellow, or greyish-brown, dotted and spotted 
with deep brown. The young, at first covered with long stif- 
fish, black down, leave the nest soon after they are hatched. 
The flesh of this species is white, often loaded with fat, and 
affords tolerably pleasant eating. 
Moor Hen. Marsh Hen. Stank Hen. 
Fulica Chloropus, Linn. Syst. Nat. i. 258. — Gallinula 
Chloropus, Lath. Ind. Ornith. ii. 770. — Gallinula Chloropus, 
Temm. Man. d’Ornith, ii. 693. — Gallinula Chloropus, Green- 
footed Water-Hen, MacGillivray, Brit. Birds. 
GENUS CXII. FULICA. COOT. 
The Coots differ from the Gallinules chiefly in having the 
toes furnished with a broad scolloped membrane. They are 
of moderate size, with the body compressed, but full ; the 
neck of ordinary length ; the head rather small, and com- 
pressed. Bill not exceeding the head in length, stout, taper- 
