BIRDS. 315 
THE COOT. (Fulica atra.) 
THIS bird has so many traits in its character, and so many 
features in its general appearance, like the rails and 
water-hens, that to place it after them seems a natural 
and easy gradation ; and accordingly this has been done 
by Cuvier, though it was considered by Linnseus to be a 
genus distinct from those birds, and from the waders in 
general, on account of its being fin-footed, and its con- 
stant attachment to the waters, which, indeed, it seldom 
quits. The manner in which Coots build their nest is 
very ingenious. They form it of interwoven aquatic 
weeds, and place it among the rushes, in such a way that 
it may occasionally rise with, but not be washed away by 
the stream ; and if ever this accident happens, steady on 
her nest, the hen does not desert her brood, but follows 
with them the destiny of their floating cradle. This bird, 
in the figure and shape of its body, resembles the water- 
hen, and weighs about twenty-four ounces. The feathers 
about the head and neck are low, soft, and thick. The 
colour about the whole of the body is black, but of a 
deeper hue about the head. The cere rises upon the 
forehead in a peculiar manner, and appears as if Provi- 
dence had contrived this sort of helmet as a means of de- 
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