A Synopsis of the Birds of North America

by John James Audubon

Plate CCXXXIX.

Frontal plate and bill white, the latter dusky toward the end; head and neck greyish-black, upper parts deep bluish-grey, with an olivaceous tinge on the scapulars and inner secondaries; quills greyish-brown, tail brownish-black; breast and abdomen dull bluish-grey, lighter behind; edge of wing, outer margin of first quill, tips of outer secondaries, and lower tail-coverts white. Female of a lighter tint, with the frontal plate smaller.

Male, 13¹⁰/₁₂, 25.

From Texas to the northern parts of Maine. Exceedingly abundant in Louisiana and the Floridas, during winter and spring, where some remain to breed. The greater number breed in Maine and New Brunswick, as well as along the Great Lakes. Rare in the Middle Atlantic districts. Columbia River.

Common Coot, Fulica atra, Wils. Amer. Orn. v. ix. p. 61.

Fulica americana, Bonap. Syn. p. 338.

Cinereous Coot, Nutt. Man. v. ii. p. 229.

American Coot, Fulica americana, Aud. Orn. Biog. v. iii. p. 291; v. v. p. 568.

GENUS III. ORTYGOMETRA, Leach. CRAKE-GALLINULE.

Bill shorter than the head, rather stout, deep, compressed, tapering; upper mandible with the dorsal line nearly straight, being slightly convex toward the end, the ridge flattish for a short space at the base, very slightly extended on the forehead, narrow in the rest of its extent, the sides nearly erect, the edges sharp, with a slight sinus close to the rather obtuse tip; nasal groove broad and extending to two-thirds; lower mandible with the angle long and narrow, the dorsal line ascending, nearly straight, the sides erect, the tip narrowed. Nostrils linear, lateral, submedial. Head rather small, oblong, compressed; neck of moderate length; body rather slender, much compressed. Feet of moderate length, rather stout; tibia bare below; tarsus of ordinary length, compressed, with broad anterior scutella; hind toe short and slender, anterior toes very long, compressed, scutella, the outer slightly longer than the inner. Claws of moderate length, slender, extremely compressed, tapering to a fine point. Plumage rather stiff, but blended; feathers of the forehead with the shaft enlarged. Wings short and broad, somewhat convex, the second quill longest. Tail extremely short, much rounded, of twelve weak feathers. Digestive organs as in Gallinula.

308. 1. Ortygometra Carolinus, Linn. Carolina Crake-Gallinule.—Sora Rail.

Plate CCXXXIII. Male, Female, and Young.

Upper parts olive-brown, the feathers brownish-black in the centre, those on the back with two marginal lines of white; a broad band surrounding the base of the bill, the central part of the crown, the chin, and the middle of the fore neck in its whole length, brownish-black; a band over the eye, cheeks, and sides of neck ash-grey; middle of breast and abdomen greyish-white; sides olivaceous, barred with brownish-black and white; lower tail-coverts chiefly white, the feathers over them reddish-yellow. Female similar, but duller. Young like the female, but without black on the head or throat.