4 THE NATURAL HISTORY 
‘much out of its element, and feels fo aukward, — 
that it will fuffer itfelf to be caught by the hand, 
They remain all day long upon pools, which 
they prefer to rivers; they only fet their feet 
upon land to walk from one pool to another ; and 
when the pools are diftant, they fly there: their 
flight is very high, and generally in the night, 
Coots, like many other water-fowl, fee well 
with little light. “Ihe old ones moftly feed in 
the night. They remain concealed amongft the 
rufhes the greater part of the day; and when 
they are difturbed they hide themfelves, and even 
plunge into the mud, rather than fly away. Ir 
feems as though they began their flight with fome 
difficulty, they are fo unwilling to rife either i 
the land or from the water. 
Young Coots are lefs fearful of danger, and 
lefs careful: they appear at all hours in the 
day: they ffort, raifing themfelves upright on 
oppofite to the other, leaping out of the wa 
ter, and falling back again. ‘They fuffer the 
fowler to come near, yet they keep their eyes upon 
him, and dive the very inftant they {ce the flath of 
the powder, fo as often to efcape the fhot. 
But later in the feafon, when the Coots have 
left the fmall pools, and are collected into confide 
able 

