THE DISPLAYS AND CALLS OF THE AMERICAN COOT

DISPLAYS and calls are of paramount importance in the social behavior of birds. A call or the exposure of some bright plumage spot may serve as a social releaser to communicate one bird’s attitude or intentions to other birds, whether aggressive or friendly. This being the case, it seemed desirable to investigate in some detail the displays and calls of the American Coot (I;uZica americana) in order to understand properly the breeding behavior ofthis species. This paper presents a segment of thesis research conducted at the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology, University of California, at Berkeley, on coot breeding behavior. Some other aspects have been published or are in press (Gullion, 1950b, 1951a, 1951b, 1952).

Gordon W. GULLION, THE WILSON BULLETIN Vol.(61) 2, June 1952