The Coot, sometimes
called the Bald-headed Coot in allusion to its white frontal
shield, is a common bird of our larger pools, lakes and river-backwaters.
Clad in
dark steel-grey, its long toes curiously fringed and lobed, it is perfectly
at home on
and under the water. It makes its bulky nest of reeds and rushes in
some quiet nook, both cock and hen working hard to build it, sharing not only this labour
but that
of incubating the eggs and looking after the young. They are devoted
parents.
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