130 
THE COOT. 
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 yel- 
lowish green, the scalloped membrane of the latter, lead 
colour; middle toe, including the claw, three inches and 
three-cmarters long. 
ILLUSTRATIVE ANECDOTES. 
Buffon describes the mode of shooting Coots in France, 
particularly in Lorraine, on the great pools of Tiaucourt, 
and of Indre ; 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 season when our Coots visit us, 
they are considered as of no account, and are seldom eaten. 
The European ornithologists represent the membrane on 
the forehead of the Coot as white, except in the breeding 
season, when it is said to change its colour to pale red. 
This circumstance would induce one to suppose, that our 
Coot is a different species from the European, which I have 
never had the satisfaction to behold; and, indeed, I am 
much of that opinion. 
It is a very rare occurrence, that the Coot is seen in the 
vicinity of Philadelphia in the spring or summer. The 
19th of March, 1814, I had the satisfaction of being pre- 
sented with one, a female, which was shot in the Schuylkill, 
at Gray's Ferry. I could see no difference in its plumage 
