FLORIDA GALLINULE
Gallinula chloropus cachinnans Bangs
Florida Gallinule
Other Name.—Mud Hen.
Description.—Smaller than crow; bill of medium length; general appearance rail-like; sexes similar. Adults: Head, neck, upper back and underparts slaty gray, darker on crown and face; a row of white streaks along sides and indistinct bars of white on the belly; lower back and wings olive-brown, richest on scapulars and tail; under tail-coverts white laterally, black in middle; bill, with frontal shield, red, and yellow tip; feet greenish yellow, with red area on tibiæ just above heel; eyes red-brown. Immature: Similar but with underparts whitish, no red on legs, and bill brown, with small frontal shield. Length: 13½ inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A rather rare migrant during mid-spring and early fall; rare and local as a summer resident.
Nest.—A crude cup of dead cat-tail leaves, placed on the ground or above the water, among water-plants. Eggs: 3 to 10, buffy, finely spotted with brown.
The Florida Gallinule, while not often recorded in Pennsylvania, may be commoner than we suppose. Look for it in cat-tail marshes, along channels or little pools of open water. Its call-notes are rather chicken-like.
COOT
Fulica americana Gmelin
Other Name.—Mud Hen.
Description.—Size of a small duck; feet with wide, flat lobes, unique among American birds; sexes similar. Adults: Head and neck black, rest of plumage dark slaty gray, somewhat paler below, and sometimes irregularly barred with whitish on breast and belly; edge of wing, tips of secondaries, and lateral undertail coverts, white; bill whitish, with frontal shield and two small spots near tip mahogany-red; legs and feet greenish, somewhat paler on tibiæ and on lobes on toes. Young: Similar but with a brownish wash on back and lighter below; frontal shield noticeably smaller. Length: 15 inches.
Range in Pennsylvania.—A fairly regular and common migrant, especially on the lakes and larger waterways, from April 15 to May 15 and from September 15 to November 15; often found in company with ducks. Rare as a summer resident. It should be looked for along the shore of Lake Erie in summer.
Nest.—A crude cup made of cat-tail leaves, sometimes placed in a rather open situation, but arched over with grasses. Eggs: 7 to 15, pale buffy white, heavily and evenly sprinkled with small dark brown spots.
Coot
The Coot’s queer feet are distinctive. As the bird rises from the water, it patters along with these until it has sufficient momentum to rise. Nesting records for the Coot in Pennsylvania are desirable.