75 
The Coot is not so often met with in wet ditches as the Gallinule, and the 
former is quite as aquatic as any of the duck family (Anatidce). Indeed, so 
partial is it to the water, that, during the many years which I have observed its 
habits, I have rarely seen one on land, and then only for a short time ; while thq 
Gallinule is often found at a great distance from any water, on roads, near houses, 
&c. In districts where the Coot abounds, it may be seen in considerable numbers 
in all seasons, on the water during the whole day, either seeking its food on the 
surface of the lake, diving, half-diving, or lazily allowing itself to be wafted by 
the winds and waves on the surface of the pure element, with its head buried be¬ 
tween its shoulders, in the manner of the Herons (Ardea) and other aquatic 
birds. During the March winds it generally remains in this sulky mood the en¬ 
tire day; and I have, at such times, frequently seen more than twenty floating 
and tossing about on the waves, having all the appearance of inanimate bodies but 
for an occasional dart at an insect or fish which had unwarily approached within 
their reach. At these stormy periods they are seldom seen to dive, which at other 
times they do expertly (although rather a clumsy half-diver) ; but no sooner do 
the winds subside and give place to the balmy air of April, than their aquatic 
sports commence in full vigour, and they may be observed frolicing on the water, 
diving beneath, and testifying their joy in a thousand different ways. 
This species cannot be termed gregarious, for although from forty to fifty may 
frequent a single sheet of water, yet each individual keeps perfectly distinct 
throughout the autumn and winter, and even in the breeding season they are not 
very often found in pairs ; this peculiarity has prevented my ascertaining the exact 
time at which they pair, which, however, usually takes place in March, though 
sometimes later, according as the seasons vary. 
The nest is built in a bed of rushes or irises, in an open spot several feet from 
the land, and is never situated, like that of the Gallinule, in a thick tuft of herb¬ 
age, with a view to concealment, but may be easily discovered at a considerable 
distance. Its composition does not differ from that of the Gallinule, but it is 
larger and flatter. The eggs are of a light chocolate colour, marked with thickly- 
set spots of brown and purple. Their usual number is seven or eight, but I have 
occasionally seen nine, and even ten. The first broods are hatched about the 
middle or towards the end of May, but there is a continual succession of broods 
through the month of June. My observations lead me to believe that the Coot 
has but one brood in the year; and if two broods are ever raised I should be in¬ 
clined to consider it rather a rare occurrence. The young quit the nest immedi¬ 
ately they are hatched, keeping close to their parents until they can manage for 
themselves ; they remain in the immediate neighbourhood of the spot three or four 
days, sleeping in the nest at night, and then disappear. If you approach the 
newly-hatched brood in the day-time they all disperse, diving underneath the water, 
and rising to the surface under cover of the aquatic herbage, and are often con- 
l 2 
