88 IiOBIPEüLlDiE.
these birds make their appearance on the'livefS' in vast Sóels'T
and upon an Appointed day all the boats and guns are put in
requisition/ and a general attack is madeffupon On
die banks of. the Stour the fowlers approach them, while .sitting
upon the ooze,.-by concealing thèmselves-,Uëhind,a 'skrëëb
made of bushës^ which is placed upon a le d g e r and driven*,
before them., On^erÖS§ïi^?the Stoùr frf— mbMk of January,
in a dMdf ââlm, wë’obserfëd the C q ots flda*tikg - •lïpöh the
water in a semicircle. On óürbapproach ' within abbüî -two
hundred yards, the whole body, amounting at the least
lation tcfjffbveral thousands, partly^roSe- and Sapped ahmShe-
surface dît the water, «making avtîemèndtMs_rushing 'irafsc..
Had there beeiT any wind, they would ‘ha^#risei|'iufeb the air
without difficulty. but, there being none, they could 's^a^celjr
disentangle their« fdi® We killed two^oumdhd 'birds ; one
of them affordedhdxcellent sport, not '^irferiif^ the* iMftv to
approaehit without diving, and coîmhgr'up o w S ^ é ^M J hundred
yards-’ off L it had the action and aïêrtn^P óf a Dobchick.1’
Sir William Jardinë^sayss Coots ha^eVa4wer^pqwecffil .-Sight
when^dnee on' the wing, and By with- thei^bg'i' stretched out
behind, acting thtTpart of a' ta^k-rhMfglïhâhné t o f a Heron.
I il .Scotland And the: norfctfcbf England ftney' arrive in the
marshes anddàkescto breed, and retire’ again at the fcotnmdnee-v
mént- of winter to. the more southern coasté.' Ï I !etfe/in the
south," these. birds . are very' num erous/af/,several:. different
placés, particularly on the shôfés and inland waters, of the
Isle of Sheppÿ, at the mbhtfr of the'ThameS ’/'in the « Southampton
water, in Hampshire, at Poole, ancUother parts of
Dorsetshire ; they are_also carefully protected*, and Accordingly
breed in great quantities, atfSlapton' Ley*, in Start Bay, on
the coast of Devon. Theyfehd* on small; fishes,, aquatic Tinfects,,
and various portions of vegetable, matter., " Coots breed
in many parts of England, forming a nest b‘f Sags, among
reeds,- upon the margins of lakes, ponds,, and rivers« Mr.
Hewitson saysyethat “ he- has had opportunities of examining
many ofj tlmhk.npsts. They are large, and apparently clumsy
a t ; first sight, but |g | amazingly strong and. compact; they
are spmetir^csi ^built on a tuft of rushes, but more commonly
amongst reeds,; .SQMeMie, supported by^those that lie prostrate
oiithe water, whilst|^hers-. have-,,their foundations at its botr
fogrfr and are^raiseitil^it^ey^beqqmq from six to twelve inches*
H IitS ':.S u rfa c e , sometimes/in a. depth- of. .one and a half or*
tw,o-feetjstSo; firm, are/sopae of them, that, whilst up to the
k.nees in, water,” they afforded me a seat, sufficiently strong to,
Support jn-y weight..,,'. ^ h^Pare composed of Sags and broken«
ijeeds, finey/q wards the inside,/^jnd contain from seven to ten
' ^ fj§ |^ 8 These are,stone ,, colour^, speckled ov.ef. with nutmeg?
b^own,,. two,,inches; one.line in,length by one i^ c ^ s ix lines in
breadthv;^Bewick mentions that, a Bald Cpot built her nest
in Sir; W., Middiet,pn&v|lal|^ at Ilelsay, Northumberland,
anqojig .the r u s h e s , « . w e r e afterwards loosened, by the
windk ^ id«: of^bjtirsfe.;.the^nest,was driven- about, and floated
Upon the ^surface qf tbe water, in every direction^;J .notwithstanding
which,* the female Continued to sit as usual, and
brought jm t her young .upon .her -moveable habitation.. Some
bjpdfls appear towards thel-end of May, others in June. The
young-quit, thp^nest-soon after they are hatched, and leave it
entirely after three' or four days,- to follow their parents, who
are very careful of theni.., ~
Sis Thomas Browne of Norwich, when writing of British
Birds about 1685,, saysy, “ .Coots are -in very great flocks on
the broad waters. Upon the appearance of a Kite or Buzzard,
I have seen* .them unite from all vparts of the- shore in
strange numbers ; when, if the Kite , stoop near them, they
will fling up, and; spread'such a flash of water with their
Wings, that they, will endanger the Kite, and so keep him off
again and again in open opposition; and this habit they
practise to the present time to- defend themselves or their