Fulica atra Linnæus, Syst. Nat. ed. 10 (1758), 1, 152; Sharpe,
Cat. Birds Brit. Mus. (1894), 23, 210; Hand-List (1899), 1, 109;
Oates, Cat. Birds' Eggs (1901), 1, 129; McGregor and Worcester,
Hand-List (1906), 19.
U-luc' di-á-blo, Manila.
Luzon (Heriot, McGregor). Europe, Indian Peninsula, Mediterranean
countries, northern and central Asia, China, Java, Sumatra,
Celebes.
Adult male.--General color above slate-gray, lower back, rump, upper
tail-coverts, and tail blackish; head, neck, chin, and throat black;
under side of body pale slate or smoke-gray; crissum black; edge
of wing and of first primary white; under wing-coverts and axillars
smoke-gray. "'Bill very pale lavender, with a pinkish tinge; frontal
shield ivory-white; tarsi and feet pearly gray, with a greenish tinge
on the sides of the tarsus; garter orange-yellow; iris dark brown'
(R. B. S., MS). Length, 368; culmen from base of shield, 34; wing,
218; tail, 56; tarsus, 33; middle toe and claw, 78." (Sharpe.)
Adult female.--Similar to the male. In a specimen from Laguna de Bay,
Luzon, December 29, 1901, the following colors were noted: Iris dull
red; frontal shield and bill white, tip pale horn-brown; feet slate;
legs slate with a wash of pale green on middle of tarsi; garter-ring
next to feathers dull orange. Wing, 209; tail, 61; culmen including
frontal shield, 47; bill from nostril, 15; bill from gape, 32; tarsus,
59; middle toe with claw, 87.
"Young.--Much browner than the adult, feathers of head dusky blackish
edged with white; lores, eyebrows, and sides of face white; under
surface of body ashy whitish, browner on the flanks." (Sharpe.)
The black coot is fairly abundant on the Laguna de Bay, Luzon, and
doubtless occurs in Mindanao. This bird frequents lakes and ponds
and is seldom seen on land.
Order COLYMBIFORMES.