Gallinules and Coot
| 218. Purple Gallinule (Ionornis martinica). L. 13. Ads. Crown-plate bluish, bill carmine tipped with greenish; back shining green; below purplish blue; under tail-coverts white. Yng. Above browner; below with white; no red on bill. Range.—Tropical and subtropical America; breeds only in eastern North America north to southern Illinois and South Carolina, strays to Maine and Wisconsin; winters from southern Florida south to South America. 219. Florida Gallinule (Gallinula galeata). L. 13.5. Ad. Crown-plate red, bill red tipped with greenish; legs green with a red ring; back olive-brown; flanks slate streaked with white. Yng. Crown-plate smaller with bill brownish; no red on legs; below grayish. Notes. An explosive chuck and many loud and varied calls suggesting a disturbed brooding hen, the squawking of a struggling hen, etc. Range.—Temperate and tropical America; breeds locally north to Maine, Montreal, Minnesota, and northern California; winters from Gulf States and California southward. 221. American Coot (Fulica americana). L. 15. Toes with scallops. Ads. Bill whitish; crown-plate and two spots on bill brownish; head and neck black; rest of plumage slate. Yng. Whiter below, browner above, crown-plate smaller. Notes. An explosive cuck and noisy cackling notes. Range.—North America; breeds in the interior (chiefly northward) north to the Mackenzie and on Pacific coast to British Columbia; winters from British Columbia and Gulf States south to Central America and West Indies. |
Order IX. SHORE BIRDS.
LIMICOLÆ.
| Family 1. | PHALAROPES. | Phalaropodidæ. | 3 species. |
| Family 2. | AVOCETS AND STILTS. | Recurvirostridæ | 2 species. |
| Family 3. | SNIPES, SANDPIPERS, ETC. | Scolopacidæ | 33 species, 2 subspecies. |
| Family 4. | PLOVERS. | Charadriidæ. | 9 species, 2 subspecies. |
| Family 5. | SURF BIRDS AND TURNSTONES. | Aphrizidæ. | 4 species. |
| Family 6. | OYSTER-CATCHERS. | Hæmatopodidæ. | 3 species. |
| Family 7. | JACANAS. | Jacanidæ. | 1 species. |
The Phalaropes are swimming Snipes. The Northern and Red Phalaropes, both of which have well-developed lobes or scalloped webs on their toes, except when nesting, live at sea a hundred miles or more off shore, where they find an abundance of food in small forms of marine life. The Wilson Phalarope is a bird of the interior and consequently, is far less aquatic than the remaining species of the family; nevertheless it readily takes to water, swimming buoyantly and gracefully.
Contrary to the general rule, the female Phalarope is larger and more brightly colored than the male and this difference in size and plumage is accompanied by similarly unusual habits; the female taking the place of the male in the Phalarope household. The female of necessity lays the eggs, but they are hatched by the male alone, who it is said, cares for the young, also without the assistance of his mate.
The Avocets and Stilts are wading Snipes. The Stilts secure their food by quick thrusts of the bill, but the Avocets use their singular, upturned member in a more interesting manner. When in water two or three inches deep, the bill is dropped below the surface, until the curved lower mandible evidently touches the bottom; then walking rapidly, or even running, the bill is swung from side to side and the bird thus explores the mud in its search for food, which, when it is felt, is picked up in the usual way.
Many of the members of the family Scolopacidæ are probing Snipe. The Woodcock, Wilson Snipe, and Dowitcher are good examples. Their bill is long and sensitive and they can curve or move its tip without opening it at the base. When the bill is thrust into the mud the tip may therefore grasp a worm and it thus becomes a finger as well as a probe.