USA > Maine > The history of the state of Maine; from its first discovery, A. D. 1602, to the separation, A. D. 1820, inclusive, Vol. I > Part 14
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132
THE ANIMALS
LINTRODUC.
SECTION V. Native Animals, Beasts, Birds, Fishes, Vermes, Reptiles and Insects. BEASTS, OR QUADRUPEDS .*
ZOOLOGY.
IN our observations upon the different creatures of this section, respect will be had to the Linnaean classification and arrangement ;
Side-Saddle, (Sarracinia Purpurea ;) taking its common name from the shape of its leaf ; it grows in wet, mossy bogs, and vegetates in clusters rather than leaves ; tubular like a bottle.
Sea-milkwort, (Glaux Maritima.)
St. John's-wort, (Hypericum Performatum.)
Snow-ball, (Viburnum Opulus,) is a shrub having a flower like a rose, though without any of its fragrance.
Snow-thistle, (Sonchus,) resembles lettuce.
Spikenard, Sarsaparilla, are species of the Aralia. 1. Race-mosa-2. Nu- dicaulis. Aralia Spinosa, [Angelica-tree] is a large shrub, covered with sharp thorns. The other is a stout herb.
Speedwell, (Veronica Serphillifolia.)
Spring-beauty. (Claytonia Virginica.) Spleenwort, (Asplenium.)
Spurge, (Euphorbia Helioscopia.) It contains an acrid milky juice. Spurney, (Spergula Arvensis.)
Sweet Pea, (Lathyrus Venosus,) [Vetchling] a most fragrant annual
plant. Touch-me-not, (Impatiens noli me tangere.)
Trefoil-bush, (Hedysarum Andiflorum.)
Turnip, (Brassica Rapa.) Wild Turnip, (Arum Triphillum.)
Twinflower, (Linnoca Borealis.) Venus' Pride, ( Houstonia Linnaæi.)
Water-arum, (Calla Palustris.) Water Fescue, ( Festuca Fluitans.) Water Horehound, (Lycopus Virginicus.)
Water Purslane, (Isnardia Palustris.)
Water Parsnip, (Sium Latifolium.) White Lettuce, (Preanthes Alba.)
Wild-rye, (Elymus Virginius.) Windflower, (Anemone Hepatica.)
Willow-herb, (Epilobium Augustifolium.)
Wood-sorrel, (Rumex Acetosella.)
GRASSES .- Barn ; Blue-eyed ; Chess ; Cotton ; Couch ; Dropseed ; Goose- foot ; Horsetail ; Herds ; Indian-sweet ; Knot ; Meadow ; Millet; Orchard ; Red-top and Timothy .- Mr. Nuttall, p. 190. says, " the Mays, [Maize], or Indian Corn [Zea Mays] belongs to the family of the Grasses. The flow- ering top, or pinnacle, consists of flowers which all well know, never pro- duce corn.
N. B .- For facts relative to several of the Plants, particular acknowl- edgements are due to the " New Dispensatory," of J. Thacher, M. D. ; to the " American Medical Botany," &c. in 3 vols. with plates, by Jacob Big- elow, M. D .- also, to S. Lowder, jr. and J. Bennock, Esqrs. The Bot- any of Thomas Nuttall, Esq. Professor, &c. at Harv. University, has been consulted ; and also the list of indigenous plants of Rev. Dr. Gochrane, V. Pres. of King's Coll. N. S .- 2 Halliburton's Hist. N. S. 405.
* See N. A. Review, No. 1, 1826, p. 120.
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and the descriptions given will be such as have been received from hunters, and naturalists.
The Bat is of the mouse order : it brings forth its young alive Bat. and suckles them. Its teeth are very sharp; only its hind feet are disengaged from the skin; and the web of its wings is thin, without down or feathers.
Of the Bear kind,* are three species : 1. the Bear itself, which with us, is of black or a dark brown colour; and large, KIND. BEAR weighing from 3 to 400 pounds. Its flesh is good, and its skin and its grease is valuable. It chooses for its food, corn, sweet apples, and nuts ; and when driven by hunger, it will destroy the smaller domestic animals, and has been known to kill milch cows. Children have been sometimes attacked by this animal, but it flies before a man. When " tree'd" and unable to escape its pursuer, it will gather its body into a globular form and let itself down from the top of a tall tree, to the ground, from which it will re- bound two or three feet, and receive no hurt. One so escaped from the great hunter, John Getchel of Vassalborough, who pur- sued it with a pitchfork to the top of a tree whence it dropt. The female usually bears two cubs at a birth. During the winter months the bear lies dormant in some well-chosen den, which is usually a shelving rock, on the southerly side of a hill, where it dozes, without food and without much respiration. Before it re- tires in November, it gums up, as the hunters call it, by taking into its stomach a quantity of gum and turpentine as large as a man's fist.
2. The second species is the Raccoon. This creature is shaped Raccoon. like a fox, though with shorter legs and sharper claws. Its flesh is excellent for the table ; its fur, which is of a dark gray, is good for hatting, and it weighs from 20 to 30 pounds.
3. The Wolverine, [Carcajou, t] is as large as a wolf and of Wolverines like colour ; it has very long feet, and toes strongly set with claws. It is bold and fierce, and will dart from the branches of trees upon the backs of the deer, and even the moose; and with wonder-
* A bear will live 20 years.
t Goldsmith supposes the Glutton " in the north parts of America-has the name of Carcajou;" and " the wolverine is distinguished from the glutton by its superiour size and colour."-2 Goldsmith, 365, 368. But he is not correct.
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INTRODUC.
ful dexterity open the jugular vein with its teeth, and thus bring its prey to the ground .*
CASTOR KIND.
We have two species of the Castor kind,t viz. 1. the Beaver. and 2. the Muskrat or Musquash.
Beaver.
The Beaver is in many respects the most remarkable of all our wild animals. Its head is large, its ears short : its fore teeth are prominent, long, and sturdy, and hollowed like a gouge ; its fore legs are short, with toes separate, and its hinder ones are long, with toes webbed. Its tail is large, broad, and scaly, re- sembling the body of a fish ; its fur is black, very thick and fine, and highly valued. It is an amphibious animal ; its body is three feet in length, and its weight 45 or 50 pounds. The castor, so much celebrated, lies in sacks behind the kidneys. Beavers like birds, have only one place for evacuations. They dwell to- gether in families, of which the male and its female, and 4 or 5 young ones of a year old, called by the Indians peoys, form one household; the construction of their dams and habitations, so particularly described by most writers on the subject, are evincive of a wonderful sagacity.
Musquash.
The Musquash is also amphibious, and affords a strong musk. It is sometimes called the Muskrat .; It forms its cabin in stag- nant water, with sticks and mud, and is smaller than a beaver, being 15 inches in length and one foot in circumference, and will weigh about four pounds. Its back is dark, its sides red-brown, and its fur valuable.
CAT KIND.
The species of the Cat kinds found in our forests are three, 1. the Catamount. 2. the Wild-Cat. 3. the Black-Cat.
Catamount.
The Catamount, (the Indian Lunkson, or evil devil,) is a most ferocious and violent creature, more to be feared by the hunters and Indians, than any other one in our woods. Its head is like that of a common cat; its body is threefold larger; its tail is about five inches long, its colour gray and its fur poor. It
* 1. Ursus Arctos, (Bear.)-2. Ursus Loton, (Raccoon. )-3. Ursus Luscus, (Wolverine.) + 1. Castor Liber .- 2. Castor Zibethicus.
# Goldsmith considers the Muskrat a species of the Rat genus; whereas American naturalists range it under the Castor kind .- 2 vol. 278.
§ Felis. 1. Felis Pardalis .- 2. Felis Lynx .- 3. Felis Lepus .- Gold- smith supposes the " Catamountain" is the same as the eastern Occlet, or Tyger-Cat. 2 vol. 276, 280.
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is found between the Penobscot and St. John rivers. There is another variety, with a longer tail, shorter legs and darker colour.
The Wild-Cat, or mountain cat, is much heavier and fiercer Wild-cat. than any of the domestic species. It is of a sallow-ground col- our, and its weight about 30 or 40 pounds. The Black-Cat is Black-cat. much larger in size than the wild-cat, very ravenous and fierce, has short legs and a long tail, and is of a black colour ; called by the natives Wooleneag. A hunter has assured me that there is a fourth species found in our woods, called Loucife,* which has a cat's head and ferocity, but its fore legs and tail are short and its hind legs long. It is of a light gray colour, is twice as large as a rabbit and is 18 inches high.
Of the Deer kind,t we may reckon three species,-1. the DEER Moose. 2. the Deer, and 3. the Caribou. KIND.
The Moose, sometimes called with us the " Moose-Deer,"Į is Moose. the most noble animal of our forests, as the white pine is chief among the trees. Hence the Moose as well as the Pine is in- troduced into our shield, in the coat of arms, or the great seal of the State.
His height is equal to that of a common horse ; his legs are longer and somewhat smaller ; and his head and neck are shaped like that of a colt, with a small mane. He is very fleet-footed, able to trot 12 miles an hour ; and when pursued, his hoofs, which are cloven, click and crackle so loud every step, as to be heard some distance. His tail is short, his body large, gaunt and cylindrical, and his hair is an intermixture of white and reddish brown, forming a beautiful gray. He chews the cud and has lofty horns, ten feet apart from tip to tip, when fully grown, which he lays back upon his shoulders when he travels, and which he annually sheds ; the female is without horns. His flesh is never very fat, but exceedingly tender and juicy, and is said to make a sweeter and better steak than that of a well fattened bullock.
* " Loupcervier," which is also found in New-Brunswick and N. Scotia. -Sketches of N. B. 2 Hal. N. S. 394.
t 1. Cervus Torandus -2. Cervus Dama, (will live 20 years.)-3. Cervus Canadensis.
# Goldsmith says, " there is but very little difference between the Euro- pean Elk and the American Moose-Deer." 2 vol. 206. He also says, p. 213, the N. Americans hunt the rein-deer " under the name of the Cari- bou." But he mistakes.
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[INTRODUC.
The most favourable time for hunting them is when there is a deep snow on the ground, bearing a hard crust. His skin makes soft beautiful leather, and is highly valued. The whole weight of a full grown male is from 800 to 1200 pounds. The food of these animals is grass, shrubs, buds, moss and the bark of trees, espe- cially beech and moose-wood, a sort of maple. In summer they associate in families ; and in companies during winter : the fe- male generally brings forth two at a birth, in April, which follow the dam a year.
They were, for a century after Maine was first attempted to be settled, found and killed in great numbers ; and in Nova Scotia, they were still more abundant ; so that as late as during the Amer- can Revolution, they were in that province hunted by the loyal- ists merely for their skins, and four or five hundred killed in one year. They are now scarce in this State. A gentleman informs me, that in March, 1786 or 7, a male Moose was driven into Hallowell from the wilderness, by the hunters. He strove to herd among the cattle, but being discovered, fled to the river, then cov- ered with ice ; and when he found himself surrounded on all sides by his pursuers, he seemed to submit to his fate in despair. The first shots at him broke his under jaw, and he was dropped by a ball through his body. He had then no horns.
Deer.
The Deer is of a cinerous brown, has slender horns with shoots on the interiour side, one for every year after the third of its age ; and these horns, of three pounds weight, he casts every spring. The amorous season is September ; and the modest doe sepa- rates from the buck into secret places to bring forth her young, bearing two, sometimes three, at a birth. The flesh and skin of the deer are highly valued ; their weight of carcase is from 250 to 300 pounds. They are still plenty in this State, and have very lately been seen near the head of the tide in Penobscot river.
Caribou.
The Caribou* is a large animal, about half way in size be- tween the deer and the moose. It is seen about the upper branches of the river St. John, and in many other parts of the State. Within a few years one was killed in a farmer's barn- yard in Hampden, herding among the cattle-probably chased
* Buccaribou -- Sullivan .- It is found also in Nova Scotia and N. Bruns- wick.
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there by huntsmen or hounds. It has branching palmated horns with brow antlers. It is a neat beast, and is very fleet, but its flesh is not so good as that of the moose. Some call it the rein- deer of North America.
It is believed that we have only two species of the Dog kind ;* DOG KIND. 1. the Fox, and 2. the Wolf; and that the sorts of the former For. are not different species, but merely varieties of the same spe- Wolf. cies : These are the red, the silver-gray, the black, and the cross Foxes. They intermix ; and one full grown would weigh about 20 pounds.+ The silver-grays are very beautiful animals. The fox is sometimes mischievous. But no wild creature has been more troublesome to the husbandman than the Wolf. Till the Sepa- ration, a bounty of four pounds currency was provided by law for every one killed. It weighs about 80 or 90 poundst.
The Hares and the Rabbit|| are two species of one genus, Hare and which has an inner and outer row of fore teeth in the upper jaw ; Rabbit. on each fore foot they have five toes, and four on each hind foot. The latter species wears a long silky silver-white coat of fur dur- ing the winter. Both feed on green vegetables, and their flesh is much esteemed. The female is capable of bearing at six months old, breeds six or seven times in the year and brings forth, in a month from gestation, some 4, 5, or 6 young at a time, which are often devoured by the male, as well as by foxes, wease's and other animals. The bed of her young is lined with down pluck- ed from her own skin, and she never leaves them except when pressed with hunger.
On the branches of the Penobscot, and probably in other Moles. places, are found in abundance, two species of the Mole ; T one, called the digger, is very small, and has a peaked nose ; the other is larger than a house-mouse, and has very short legs.
* 1. Canis Alopex, (will live 15 years.)-2. Canis Lupus, (will live 20 years.)
t In Nova Scotia, is the black Fox. It is probably the Fisher, or Black Cat, resembling a Martin. Its length 2 feet, circumference 1 foot; tail 12 inches long ; yet rarely met with among us.
Į The wolf is the same in Europe, Asia, Africa and America .- N. A. Review, 1826.
§ Lepus Timnidus. || Lepus Americanus. In Maine the Hare and Rabbit are each about 7 or 8 pounds' weight, though the Hare is commonly the , arger, but in Europe it is twofold larger. T Talpa. VOL. I. 10
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[INTRODUC.
Mice.
The three species of the Mouse kind,* seen in our wood- lands, are-1. the shrew,-2. the ground, and 3. the field Mouse. The first is the smallest of quadrupeds, with eyes exceedingly lit- tle ; the second is slate-coloured, burrows in the ground, and fre- quently does damage to the roots of trees; the third is larger than the house mouse, its colour, on the back and sides, is of an orange-brown, and its belly of a dull white.
Porcupine.
The Porcupine, or Hedgehog, or more scientifically, the Ur- chin, t is a quadruped, slow in motion, of a gray colour, and of about ten or twelve pounds in weight. Its flesh is wholesome ; it feeds on the roots and bark of plants. The female brings three or four at a birth, once a year ; the time of gestation being about 40 days. What is most remarkable about this animal is its quills, which are its defence, and, like barbed darts, wound its assailant and stick fast in the flesh. The Indians dye them of various colours, and then work them into curious figures, on their moc- casins, belts, and birchen vessels.
Rat.
The Ratt of the woods is a cunning, shy creature, about which hunters can give me but little information. It is dark coloured and burrows in the ground ;- not often caught or seen.
Skunk.
The Skunks has been marked as of the cat kind, and a kin- dred of the polecat, though smaller ; but it is certain that the two greatly differ, Its defence is the fluid it scatters and flirts on its assailant ; and so intolerable is its scent, that never was armour more universally protective. A foreigner, after viewing this little harmless creature, gave it a switch, and, as he himself stated the case. 'ere the whip touched its calico back, it turned up its pos- ' teriors towards me, and lifting up one hind leg, discharged a " stygian liquor, of a scent I shall never forget to my dying day. 'In a moment, the place was filled with a most horrid stench, " which beggars all description. This infernal water made me so ' offensive, I was for many days ashamed to go into a house, or ' even to meet a person in the highway,'
Of the Squirrel kind || we have five species,-viz. 1. the black ;
* 1. Sorex Cristatus,-2. Sorex Murinus,-3. Sorcx Areneus.
Goldsmith who follows Buffon considers every species of the mouse and mole as'belonging to the " Rat kind."- 3 vol. chap. I.
t Hystrix Dorsata. Į Mus --? Sylvestris ?- terrestris § Viverra Pulorius.
or Ground rat.
[ 1. Sciuris Niger .- 2. Sciurus Cinerous .- 3. Sciurus Flavus .- 4, Sciurus Striatus .- 5. Sciurus Volans. It is said a squirrel will live 7 years.
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SECT. v.] OF MAINE.
2. the gray ; 3. the red ; 4. the striped ; 5. the flying Squirrel, all of which are too universally known to need description ; ex- cept, perhaps, the last. The flying Squirrel is the least and most beautiful, being covered with a very fine and delicate fur. It has wings which enable it to fly from one tree to another, the distance of 40 feet. It is almost as large as a striped Squirrel, and feeds on buds and wild seeds.
There are in our woods, of the Weasel kind,* five very noted Weasel species :- 1. Ermine ; 2. Martin ; 3. Mink ; 4. Otter ; and kind. 5. Weasel, (sui speciei,) and, perhaps, 6. the Polecat.t
1. The Ermine, or Sable, resembles a Weasel, except that it Ermine, or is larger, weighing about 16 ounces ; it has its tail tipped with a Sable. beautiful black. In summer, its colour is a darker orange-red than a fox, and almost as white as snow, in winter. Some have a lined back of dark brown, from head to tail ; every one of them has a most fine and delicate fur : and it is the sprightliest animal in nature. Very many of them are caught in the north parts of the State every year.
2. The Marten is very shy and retiring ; its colour is a brown, Martin. nearly approaching a black ; it is about 18 inches in length, and weighs between four and five pounds. The female brings forth from three to six, at a litter.
3. The Mink is an amphibious animal, burrows generally in Mink. the banks of fresh water ponds, rivers, and lakes. Its legs are short, its colour brown, and its fur is valuable. The weight of one is about equal to that of a marten. If it frequents the salt water, its fur is of a poorer quality .¿ It looks much like a sable.
NOTE .- There is an animal in the woods by the name of Wrescow, form- erly numerous about the heads of the Kennebec and the Androscoggin. It is of a dark brown colour, with long fur and a bushy tail. His body re- sembles that of a bear; it has a large flat foot, and is about the size of a common dog. This animal is very furious and troublesome to the hunters, often robbing their traps of game and their camps of provision .- To avoid being caught when pursued, it will ascend the highest trees .- E. Chase, Esq.
* 1. Mustela Erminea .- 2. Mustela Martes .- 3. Mustela Canadensis .- 4. Mustela Latra .- 5. Mustela Mustaela.
t The Polecat is larger than the Weasel, being 1 foot 5 inches long, of a deep chocolate colour.
# The Mink is not mentioned by Goldsmith.
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[INTRODUC,
Otter:
4. The Otter is fierce and voracious ; it feeds on fish, frogs, water-rats and other little animals ; has short legs with membranes between its toes, fitted cither for running or swimming. It is not amphibious, thoughi it can live a long time under water. Its col- our is black, its fur is much esteemed, the length of its body five or six feet, its weight 20 pounds or more, and its strength and courage such, that it has ventured in its rage to attack a man in self-defence.
Weasel.
5. The Weasel is longer bodied, more slim and active than a squirrel ; its eyes are piercing ; motions very quick ; belly cream- coloured ; back brown ; length 12 or 14 inches ; and its weight 3-4ths of a pound or more. Its food is nuts, eggs, corn, and little animals, such as chickens and mice ; and no cat will clear a house of rats like a weasel. Its number at a birth is from three to five-still they are more scarce than most of this genus, ex- cept the Otter .*
Wood- chuck.
The Woodchuckt is about 14 inches in length, its legs short, with paws well-formed for digging its own burrows; its body round, thick and fat, its colour brown ; and its fecundity is 4 or 5. at a birth. The flesh of the animal is eatable, but it is too greasy, and tastes too much of the ground to be palatable.
BIRDS.
Birds.
IN Natural History, no department is more truly engaging than that of the Ornithologist. The varieties, the plumage, the notes, the sprightliness, the region of the bird, are subjects upon which the mind dwells with pleasure. But so numerous are those in Maine, that nothing more can be done here than to mention their kinds and species, and make an occasional cbservation. One great division of them is into the land or cleft-focted, and the web- footed, or waterfowl ; another is that of the songsters and of those without a singing voice ; and it is observable, that the best singers sometimes leave the thickets of the forest for the open lands or fields of the cultivator, apparently ambitious of chanting their notes to his ear.
* A weasel-skin, worn around the throat, with the fur out, will relieve those afflicted with the asthma.
+ Ursivel Mustelae species .- Lin. Monax .- de Buffon.
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The Boblincon* is a well known meadow bird, always full of life and chatter, called in the southern States the Rice-bird.
The Cherry-birdt is of a light blue colour, crested, and large as a barn-swallow. Flocks of this species are seen on black cherry-trees when the fruit is ripe, of which they are immoder- ately fond.
The Creepert is a little woodland bird, very coy and harm- less. Also the Nuthatch§ is a small bird of the pye sort.
Of the Cuckoo kind || we have two species, viz. 1. the Cuckoo Cuckco ge. itself, a brown coloured woodland bird, as large as a thrasher ; nus. it frequents orchards and the margin of woods : 2. The Whetsaw, which is a little larger and darker than a blue-jay ; its notes are like the gratings in whetting a saw. It frequents logging camps ; and is thought to be the same as the Bird-hawk, though as to this naturalists differ.
The Cross-bill'T is larger than a sparrow, and is of an olive colour : the upper and lower parts of its beak cross each other like a pair of scissors, and thus enable it to cut off the stalks of wheat and rye; it then lays down its head sidewise to pick and take the kernels.
Of the Dove kind ** we have two species, 1. the Turtle Dove, Dovegenus. 2. the wild Pigeon. Those of the latter are very numerous ; the male and female always pair, set alternately on the eggs, and hatch two at once, several times in the season. The wild Pig- eons are excellent for the table : they come in the spring from the southern and western states, select beech and hemlock land, where they stay during the summer : several of their nests are often seen on the same tree, and their fecundity is supposed to exceed that of any other fowl.
On our coast is seen a much greater number of the Duck kindtt
Duck genus.
* Emberiza Oryzivora. t Ampelis Garrulus. § Sitta Canadensis.
Į Certhia Pinus.
| 1. Cuculus Americanus .- 2. Cuculus Olins, Lunirus, Canadensis. I Loxia Curvirostra or Loxia Restrofoiscator.
** 1. Columba Turtur ?.- 2. Columba Migratoria.
tt Duck .- 1. Anas Bernicla .- 2 Anas Fusca .- 3. Anas Nigra .- 4. Anas Spectabilis .- 5. Anas Cinerea .- 6. Anas Albeola .- 7. Anas Mollissima .- 8. Anas Penelope .-- 9. Anas Acuta .- 10. Anas Arborea .- 11. Anas Sponsa .- 12. Anas Histrionica ?- 13. Anas Strepera .- 14. Anas Bucepba- la .- 15. Anas Ferina .- 16. Anas Discors .- 17. Anas Migratoria .- 18 .. Anas Clangula,-19. Anas Moralia.
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Duck genus than of any other fowl; there being in all no less than nineteen species. 1. The Brant ; 2. brown Coot; 3. black Duck Coot; 4. white head Coot ; 5. the river Coot, or ash coloured Duck; 6. the Dipper ; 7. the sea Duck ; 8. the gray Duck ; 9. the sprig tail Duck, or Mallard ; 10. the wood Duck; 11. the crested wood Duck; 12. Lord and Lady, or Noddy ; 13. Old- wife ; 14. Quindar ; 15. red head Quindar ; 16. blue wing Teal ; 17. green wing Teal; 18. Whistler ; 19. Widgeon; all which are webfooted.
A Brant is a large bird of passage, of gray colour, and in size about half-way between a black duck and a wild goose; it is found around our bays, lakes and ponds.
The white head Coot is black, with some white on its head and midway of its wings; and each of the Coot species has a short tail, and lives about the shores of the salt water.
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