212 
COOT. 
tin; back and scapulars dirty greenish olive; shoulders, breast, 
and wing-coverts, slate blue; the under parts are hoary; vent 
black; beneath the tail pure white; primaries and secondaries 
slate, the former tipped with black, the latter with white, which 
does not appear when the wing is closed; outer edges of the 
wings white; legs and toes yellowish green, the scalloped mem- 
brane of the latter lead colour; middle toe, including the claw, 
three inches and three-quarters long. 
The bird from which the foregoing description was taken, 
was shot on the Delaware, below Philadelphia, the 29th of Oc- 
tober, 1813. It was an old male, an uncommonly fine speci- 
men, and weighed twenty-three ounces avoirdupois. It is de- 
posited in Peale’s Museum. 
The young birds differ somewhat in their plumage, that of the 
head and neck being of a brownish black; that of the breast and 
shoulders pale ash; the throat gray or mottled; the bill bluish 
white; and the membrane on the forehead considerably smaller. 
The young females very much resemble the young males; all 
the difference which I have been enabled to perceive is as fol- 
lows: breast and shoulders cinereous; markings on the bill less; 
upper parts of the head, in some specimens, mottled; and being 
less in size. 
The lower parts of these birds are clothed with a thick down, 
and, particularly between the thighs, covered with close fine 
feathers. The thighs are placed far behind, are fleshy, strong, 
and bare above the knees. 
The gizzard resembles a hen’s, and is remarkably large and 
muscular. That of the bird which has been described, was fill- 
ed with sand, gravel, shells, and the remains of aquatic plants. 
Buffon describes the mode of shooting Coots in France, par- 
ticularly in Lorraine, on the great pools of Tiaucourt and of In- 
dre; hence we are led to suppose that they are esteemed as an 
article of food. But with us who are enabled, by the abundance 
and variety of game, to indulge in greater luxuries in that sea- 
son when our Coots visit us, they are considered as of no ac- 
count, and are seldom eaten. 
