346 
COMMON COOT. 
be seen in companies, diving like ducks, remaining 
long under water, and evidently feeding. At the same 
seasons, and in winter, in some of the English rivers 
and estuaries, they appear to assemble in vast num- 
bers, and are pursued by regular fowlers, who sell 
them at eighteen-pence a couple. They breed among 
reeds or brush, growing in the water, the nest being 
generally placed where it would swim, were it not 
supported by the stalks and roots beneath ; the nest 
is very large, and mostly composed of the stalks and 
leaves of aquatic plants. During this season they 
will suffer a near approach, but become shy if often 
disturbed ; at other times, the Coot is shy and rather 
difficult to be got at. When on the wing, it flies 
strongly, with the legs stretched out behind. 
There is very little variation between the sexes 
except in size, the female being slightly less. In 
a pair before us, shot in this vicinity, during the 
breeding season, the bill is pinkish-white, spreading 
out on the forehead in a large milk-white shield, 
very conspicuous and contrasted with the dark plu- 
mage of the bird. The head, neck, and tail, are deep 
black, the former shading into a uniform blackish- 
grey, which is the only other colour in the plumage ; 
slightly paler beneath ; on the wings and back, the 
shafts are darker, and are seen as narrow lines ; the 
edge of the first bastard quill, and a very narrow 
line bordering the outer quill, white; the under 
surface of the wings, in some lights, appears of a 
silvery grey ; the tibhe are orange ; the feet and legs 
greenish-grey. 
