What is a Coot?
By Mike • April 28, 2008 • 64 commentsFor the uninitiated, the word “coot” calls to mind nothing more than doddering old codgers and curmudgeons. Nature lovers, on the other hand, are privy to an entirely new complement of coots, a collection of charming charcoal wading birds found throughout most of the world.
American Coots
Coots are mid-sized waders in the genus Fulica. Technically rails, coots are far more confiding and boldly colored than most of their kin in the family Rallidae. In fact, coots tend to live out loud under our very noses, safe from the scrutiny of an uninformed public that usually mistakes them for ducks in local parks. They resemble stealth gallinules in ninja plumage of black shading down to hues of soot and plumbeous. However, with their pugnacious, territorial ways and bold bills and frontal shields, they’re not sneaking up on anybody!
Battling Black Coots by Charlie Moores
Coots flaunt remarkable fissipalmate feet, which means their toes are lobed. This adaptation, shared with other waterbirds like grebes and phalaropes, is useful both to propel the swimming bird and to facilitate passage over matted floating vegetation. Fissipalmation is also instrumental to coots’ noted hardiness, helping the birds hold up in high temperatures by dissipating excess body heat.
This is what you see next to ‘fissipalmate’ in the dictionary!
There are 11 known living species of coot, many of which reside in South America, and a few extinct species as well:
- The American Coot (F. americana) is a common fixture of waterways all across North America. While it doesn’t usually overlap with other coots, it is distinguishable by its carnelian frontal shield and white bill tipped with a dusky ring. Fulica americana is represented at the western and eastern fringes of its territory by close congeners, the Hawaiian Coot (F. alai) and Caribbean Coot (F.caribaea) respectively.
- The only other coot to appear in large numbers in the northern hemisphere is the Eurasian or Black Coot (F.atra) of Europe and Asia. This common wader presents an unblemished alabaster bill and frontal shield. Charlie has composed a splendid treatise on the differences between Black and American Coots.
- The Andean or Slate-colored Coot (F. ardesiaca) claims the western reaches of South America from top to bottom. ‘Slate-colored’ is hardly diagnostic when talking about coots, so recognize this species by its white bill and canary yellow frontal shield.
- The White-winged Coot (F. leucoptera) overlaps with the Andean Coot to the south but extends east throughout Brazil and the east coast of South America. F. leucoptera shows a broad, rounded gold tone shield and tinged bill.
- The Red-gartered Coot (F. armillata) can be found throughout F. leucoptera’s range but the two are unlikely to be mistaken. This bird has a yellow bill like most of the South American coots with a shield that looks like an exotic, pointed flower petal draped over its nose, mostly white with a ruby base that matches the bird’s eye. The red line connecting the shield to bill is not the garter but the saddle; this bird’s name comes from the reddish coloration of parts of its leg, usually greenish yellow in coots.
- The Red-fronted Coot (F. rufifrons) shares a lot of territory with the previous South American birds. This stocky bird wields a saffron dagger for a bill, an elongated maroon shield, and flaring white undertail coverts.
- The Giant Coot (F. gigantea) is, as the name advertised, the largest of the coots. This scarce bird subverts the usual design paradigm of southwestern South America by presenting a crimson bill, yellow frontal shield, and reddish legs. This coot of the high cordilleran zone is known for building enormous, conspicuous nest platforms in open water.
- The Horned Coot (F. cornuta) also covers the western portions of South America but is near threatened due to both habitat loss and human and animal predation. Another high altitude, platform-nesting coot, this bird has the expected yellow bill, but is famous for the rather unsightly black caruncle in place of a shield. Depending on the bird, this fleshy excrescence can look like a squid, leech, or miniature antler.
- Speaking of unsightly, the Red-knobbed or Crested Coot (F. cristata) is named for a bifurcated bulb resembling a painful blood blister above its white frontal shield. This mark is only evident during breeding season but the baby blue bill is adequate to distinguish the Red-knobbed from Eurasian when the two overlap. F. cristata can be found throughout much of Africa as well as southwestern portions of Europe.
Red-knobbed Coot by Charlie Moores
Who are you calling an old coot?
Coots are just weird lookin’ birds. I get used to seeing them and then all of a sudden I’ll take a good look and think, “Whhhhhhhaaaaaaattttt?” They are odd ducks!
This is really good, but you forgot to mention that they’re demonic. Which is extremely important to be aware of. I can’t even tell you how many innocent Brooklyn children and old ladies have been dragged under the waters of Prospect Lake by the coots and devoured to the marrow.
I can’t believe I forgot to mention that, Carrie…
Anyway, there are no innocents in Brooklyn!
The Black Coot is one of my favorite species despite being a rather unsocial fellow. One thing that surprise me is the call one would expect the m to sound like a duck but instead it more like a “beep”.
[...] Birds (the only returning blog from Tangled Bank #1 [this post if you’re curious]) describes coots (the bird, not the [...]
We have coots at Lake Murray in San Diego that have characteristics of both American Coots and Eurasian coots. These birds have the red mark on the end of the beak like Fulica americana, but a white forehead (lacking the frontal shield) like Fulica atra. What are they?
Cliff
http://www.beakycoot.com
Cliff, the coot you describe sounds like a Caribbean Coot, but I can’t imagine you have them in San Diego!
Yes, Caribbean coot is most likely, the following link applies:
http://www.geocities.com/secaribbirds/idamericancaribbeancoot.html
The pictures are not very good, so I don’t carry this link on my website.
I am also thinking of the Hawaiian coot:
http://www.pbase.com/jourdaj/hawaiian_coot
My recent pictures from Lake Murray:
http://www.beakycoot.com/LM-1.JPG
http://www.beakycoot.com/LM-2.JPG
Coots like this (and variations) are common at the lake.
I’ll have more information and pictures in the Coot News for June:
http://www.beakycoot.com
Cliff
By the way, the following picture shows good detail in Missy’s right foot. It was bothering her a bit, but she recovered.
http://www.beakycoot.com/foot7.jpg
Cliff
If you go swimming in London’s Hampstead ladies’ bathing pond during summertime, coots and their spectacularly ugly children sit on the life belts that are dotted around the deep end. When you go past, you can see their weird toes hanging over the edge in extreme closeup. It’s not for everybody, but I call it fun.
Do Coots mate for life?
Research indicates that coots will stay mated so long as they can keep their territory for nesting. Migration is problematic if the pair becomes separated. Since I am on the winter end of migration, my observations are limited. It seems that winter philopatry in coots only comes with first-year birds, and I will be watching for the return of six individuals from last winter. One pair, “Freddie and Mollie”, is especially important since Freddie was a returnee from 2006/2007 who again returned in October, 2007. In November, 2007 he met Mollie, a small female whom I don’t recall seeing before. They bonded instantly, and maintained a territory south of my dock until they left in March. Stupid Marvin will of course be back for his fifth year, and has never kept a mate in winter.
Cliff
[...] hardly a secret that we love coots around here (the birds, not senile old men!) We love them in their magnificent diversity from their black, beknobbed heads to their fantastic fissipalmate feet. Our affection for them is [...]
Same for the coot, if you have a Cheezit cracker in you pocket and give the coot a few crumbs. If you hand feed them every day so that they can clearly see your face, coots will form lifelong bonds with people. It is always gratifying to have old friends come running up to me in the fall when I haven’t seen them for six months.
Cliff
I was kind of surprised to see what I thought was a dark duck in the middle of the road this morning. I picked him up, and on my lunch break got him to Wildlife Rescue’s vet. It was then I learned the duck was a coot. Thanks to your site, I now know more about the lil fella. He has a busted wing and left foot, but seemed pretty alert when I left him.And those are some feet on him!
Thanks for the info. Hope the bird’s wing can be fixed. A coot can live with a foot missing, but most US rescua and rehab agencies won’t keep a bird that can’t be released. It’s just expensive and time consuming to care for a crippled bird, especially one like a coot that lives for twenty years.
I really enjoyed this info about coots. I’ve seen them swimming in many ponds. I watched a nest at one time and thought I saw immatures later, but they were greyish white — don’t know the age. When do they lose their red coloring? When I learned about their unusual feet, I was able to get closeups, but I had read they were webbed feet. Thanks for this expertise!
Coots can’t breed here at the marina, and I don’t get to the lakes enough to know what the molt schedule is for juveniles. They must get done in time for fall migration, though. The following is a picture of a juvenile from Chollas lake:
http://www.beakycoot.com/JUVE46_1.JPG
I will upload new pictures and stories tonight for the January issue of Coot News at the following URL:
http://www.beakycoot.com/news.html
I am a school teacher in the Florida Everglades. At this time I am learning how to create a podcast. Since I had really neat pictures of a coot nest, mother on a nest, the babies minutes after hatching, and babies jumping off a dock into a lake;I thought why not use these. Well a dilemma has now arose. My coot pictures look like red-fronted coots. Is it possible for them to be here in Palm Beach County? Thanks for any help you can offer. Sheree
@Sheree: My guess is that you have pics of Common Moorhens, a similar species. Pics can be found here.
Cory, I have checked out your pictures, and spoke with other teachers and we believe the pictures are of a coot The bird in question is larger than a common Moorhen. Also, the juveniles look like small versions of the adults. I would be happy to share my photos, but do not know how to with out attachment. My computer skills are poor. If you would like to see my photos, please send some directions. Thanks Sheree
[...] What is a Coot? Coots are mid-sized waders in the genus Fulica … bill and canary yellow frontal shield. The White-winged Coot (F. leucoptera … Another high altitude, platform-nesting coot, this bird … 10000birds.com/coots.htm [...]
I’ve had the pleasure of living on San francisco bay for 11 years. The coots have always been my favorite bird. We used to have one here year round. You could feed him by hand. I would here his distintive voice, look out of my boat and he would be there craning his neck in impossible attempt to see if you were home. I’d reach down and “hand” him a chocolate chip cookie[his favorite] and he would steam away. This year instead of the 50 or so I only have one pair but what a duo. They spend most of the day gazing to each others eyes. The male [I think] swims towards me clucking when I get home from work seeking a handout. I have even seen him face down a gull,the local badboys.I look forward to their arrival every fall and miss them all summer.You have to live around these kids to understand how stunning they are.
We have had fewer winter coots in San Diego this year. Five of my coots did not return on migration. They are compelling little animals that will study your face, and if you are nice to them will remember you and form lifelong bonds.
A male coot, when first seeing you may make the “come here” click call. More info is available on my website.
This link goes to a movie I recently made. It shows Mr. Beaky at his morning bath and his lovely bride, Monday, at breakfast.
http://www.beakycoot.com/bath.wmv
Cliff
I have been watching a coot devour a bolus of something that was as big as his head. I live on Lake Ontario near Rochester, NY, and there has been a lone coot out there for a few days now. He doesn’t look like any other duck, that’s for sure.
I have wondered for years what that crazy looking bird was and started carrying around my camera and low and not behold, I never saw one again. I finally asked a friend and he said it was a strange duck too. coot. i mean cool.
We have a friendly coot who hears my voice and then quickly comes over for a snack. What is the best thing for me to give him? I am hurting him by giving him food/bread?
Lauren: bread isn’t really good food for coots though as far as I know it won’t do them any harm provided it’s a) not stale and dry, as dry bread absorbs water from the gut and can swell up causing problems, or b) mouldy. Unless the wetland they’re living on is completely sterile coots will normally find enough food for themselves…
Since Coot is a type of “Water Diving Bird”, the question is about food. I know they like grass and weeds. What I would like to know is if they also eat fish? We have many different arguments about Coots and fish eating. Can someone solve this argument for us please…
Thanks Michael
Michael: Coots are omnivorous and will pretty much anything (like us really) and small fish are taken as food items, yes.
Hi,
I am currently raising a rescued coot-who we promptly named Bert for his ugliness! I was wondering if anyone had any tips? At the moment we are trying to find out whether Bert is a girl or boy(we hope he is a boy ,otherwise he will have to be called Bertlene)! Now though Bert is quite cute and loves cuddles! After looking at some images I can’t believe he is going to have red eyes, weird or what? I also wanted to add that Coots love to eat grapes-yum yum. Bert is extremely friendly and runs over as soon as he see’s you. He loves a rub under his chin and back. He has the largest green feet ever! We might have to rename him Bigfoot….
The local newspaper crossword asks Coot’s Home, I take this as meaning where do they nest. Can anyone answer please?
How many letters, Richard?
I live in Mission Hills Counrty Club in Rancho Mirage, Ca. where they allow people to shoot the coots. The other night there were 3 shotgun blasts out on the lake with 2 men racking in about 50 dead coots. I made a BIG deal about the killings which didn’t seem too make any difference. In the morning one survived, made it to shore until it was picked up and killed by a gardner. This was horriffic. What can I do to STOP this?
Chris
Call your local US Fish and Wildlife Service Office. Find the special agent in charge of your area. Call 310-328-1516.
Do not talk with California Department of Fish & Game or any other agency until you have been briefed by the U S Fish and Wildlife Service Special Agent.
Cliff
Hi Cliff;
Thanks for your info.
I’ve called the US Fish and Wildlife but had to leave a message. Hopefully someone will call me back.
I’ve talked to the police. No help. I did talk to the Fish and Game prior to your e-mail. No help. I talked to the management of Mission Hills Country Club who state they have a license to do this.
I just can’t believe some people. My neighbors could care less, some of them even cheering. There will be a HOA meeting in Feb. I’ll bring it up but I sure I’ll be out voted. So sad.!
Any ideas?
We had problems like this last year, but made the mistake of not contacting the US Fish and Wildlife Service first. You can read about the lessons we learned when protected birds were being exterminated here:
http://www.beakycoot.com/opinion.html
Scroll down to the bottom half of that page.
The US government doesn’t have the corruption and conflict of interest you may find in state and local governments. Also, the US Fish and Wildlife Service can prosecute cases under Title 16 US Code with penalties up to $5000 per bird, nest, or egg I believe.
If the Mission Hills Country Club has a depredation permit:
http://www.fws.gov/forms/3-200-13.pdf
it was issued by the local US Fish and Wildlife Service special agent, and you should be able to get a copy of it to see if they are in compliance.
Cliff
Thank you Cliff for all your help.
I did get a call back from the Fish and Wildlife, a Mrs. Grasper who has looked into Mission Hills Country Club. She told me that they did have a depredation permit.
I guess there’s nothing I can do, except not to be home when this is going on.
I did read beakycoot. Thank you for sharing.
Regards, Chris
Thanks for giving it a try, sounds like you did your best. Still, it’s hard for me to imagine a property manager who never breaks the law, so be sure to keep an eye on them.
Coots are charming little animals with the unusual tendency to “flock up” with other species, so they make faithful companions. It’s sad to see them killed for nothing.
It’s unfortunate that they all leave on migration in March, and most don’t make it back, but it is always a thrill to see a familiar face come scuttling up to me in September!
Cliff
Cliff, I’ve been meaning to thank you for responding to Chris’ comment. Thanks!
Thanks for allowing me to post my response. Most people have at best a naive concept of how government and nonprofit agencies work in the case of wildlife. The quickest way to work around the corruption, conflict of interest, and downright graft, is with your local US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) special agent.
I’m not saying that the USFWS is a panacea for preventing extinction of wild birds. It still doesn’t make sense to issue depredation permits to exterminate wildlife surviving in the urban environment when the natural habitat is gone.
These are just the facts, and they have been hard to uncover over the past seven years. If you want my opinion, that would take a bit longer. . .
Cliff
I agree with everyone that coots are fascinating birds… in fact, so fascinating that I just completed my dissertation studying them. Some fun facts about coots: (1) The chicks are world champions in terms of colorful juveniles. They have bright red beaks, bright red bald heads and red and orange plumage until they are about 2 weeks old. (2) They are conspecific brood parasites, or “egg dumpers”, who lay eggs in other coot nests in addition to their own. (3) In response, coots that receive other coot eggs will recognize and reject ‘parasitic’ eggs and chicks some of the time. (4) Coots lay more eggs than they can raise, so typically half of the coot chicks from a given nest will perish before independence. The parents use a combination of aggression towards older chicks and favoritism toward youngest of the surviving chicks, which then catch up to their older siblings in size before fledging. And there are so many more fascinating things about them… they are indeed a great study animal for ecology, evolution and behavior.
I have just spotted a coot here in laughlin nevada at the southern california edison plant. Is this an odd spot for a coot?
Tammy, I’m not surprised to spot coots anywhere in any weather. They’ve been common everywhere I’ve been in the contiguous United States.
Mike,
Thanks for responding….I have never seen one and just thought it was so odd and odd looking. Is it normal for them to be alone? And really not too close to any body of water.
Coots need about fifty yards of open water to take off and land. I would guess that your coot had been injured or weakened by starvation and separated from the other migrating coots.
Cliff
It not appear to be injured but weakened by starvation possibly, it stayed in the same place for about 3 hours outside my office window…when someone came by to see what kind of bird it was (this is before we knew)he is back now outside the office nestled under a shrub and sitting or laying is it possible it is a female and its getting ready to lay some eggs? And if it is weakend what should we do? We are thinking we should call Nevad wild life.
If the bird is sitting, it is too weak to stand, and probably ready to die. The bird needs to get warm and get some food and water. I use Cheez-It crackers and a coffee cup with fresh water for a start.
I don’t know about your wild bird rescue and rehab facilities in Nevada. I suspect that there is nothing you can do within the law to keep this bird alive for long. Most rescue agencies here refuse to come out and pick up animals, and if you handle this bird without the federal permit, you will be in violation of US Code Title 16, chapter 7. Plus whatever your state fish & game department may threaten…
I usually tell people to do whatever you can where you are to save a life, and let your conscience be your guide. In my experience these laws are almost unenforceable.
Check my website http://www.beakycoot.com for more details.
Cliff
will any cracker do? since I am at work we do have some crackers but not cheeze its…
Whatever you have will do to see if the bird can eat. Cheez-its are good because they have oil (fat) in them and you can sail them like a Frisbee. Rice pudding is a favorite since it has fat, sugar, and carbohydrates, and the birds love it.
The only other thing would be to take the bird to a freshwater pond, where it may have a chance to survive. Of course, you would probably be breaking all sorts of laws by releasing or abandoning a live animal…
Cliff
I will see what I can take out there…taking it to a pond is not an option unfortuneatley, so when I go out there the bird will not be aggressive right?
ok took the water out and some crackers i tossed the crackers towards the bird and she got right up and went the other way of course, I came in and watched her thru the window she was waiting to make sure I was gone… lol
That’s probably all you can do. Usually if a bird is injured or sick it will run away from the rest of the flock and be difficult to catch. It’s really sad.
Coots can make faithful companions because of their tendency to flock together with other species. However, if you grab a coot and hold onto it, the bird will be terrified of you. But if you can get down on your knees and hand feed a coot so the bird can see your face clearly, the bird may form a lifelong bond with you and act like a domestic pet.
Cliff
yea we will see how she is tomorrow she still isnt eating the crackers its like she is hiding she is in the corner of the wall its pretty sheltered from the wind and the rain. Thanks for all the input this has been an interesting day learning about this odd bird! The more I read about it they are pretty cool. I will check back and give a report tomorrow.
Well no sign of my bird this morning….She didnt eat any of the crackers and looks like none of the water either. Hopefully she is ok…there are alot of coyotes here I dont want to think the worst.
Hopefully the coot was able to get up and flying. Coots migrate at night, so she was probably gone soon after you left. Thanks for passing along the interesting story.
Cliff
yes thank you for all the info I shared my new found information with my family.
I’m attempting to identify a coot found on the island of Nevis in the Leeward Islands of the Caribbean. Its coat is an indigo to black and its bill is bright red tipped in white, legs almost an irridescent green, a white patch on either side of its tail feathers. Can you help with its name? I’m hoping to paint it and enter the painting in Birds in Art.
I think this is a Common Moorhen. A coot would have a white beak and forehead.
Cliff
How long do baby coots stay in the nest for? I have been watching a pair of coots sitting on their nest for a couple of weeks, but yesterday I walked a different way with the dog and today when I went past the nest the coots were gone! Could the babies have hatched and swam off in the space of 48 hours? I can’t see any eggs in the nest.
I am concerned that someone has purposefully scared them away as the nest is in the middle of a dock where a big swimming competition is taking place tomorrow…
http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/Auk/v071n04/p0366-p0412.pdf
The above link from SORA describes the reproductive cycle in American Coots. Page 389 covers the care and development of the young coot. When the young coot is six hours old, it is quite buoyant and will climb in and out of the nest.
When the nests are disturbed, every young goes over the side into the water to swim to cover. Any of the young that are less than 15 to 20 minutes old are not yet buoyant and generally drown.
Gordon Gullion’s work in the 1950s is the most detailed and accurate research available on American Coot behavior. Unfortunately much of the academic papers written are hindered by prejudice and conflict of interest. The authors who submit papers to these journals pay to have them published, and get to pick who reviews them.
http://elibrary.unm.edu/sora/
It’s really sad that people these days don’t seem to have the time to spend a few hours every day in the company of wild birds. The birds will eventually learn to accept you, and you will learn to recognize them as individuals. Now that we are well into this planet’s sixth extinction event, there should be an even greater need for competent field biologists. I call the Port of San Diego information number, and ask to talk to their biologist, and they say that they don’t have one. The Port manages hundreds of acres of public parks and wetlands.
Oh well…
Cliff
I live in Cape Town South Africa. I walk every day and feed the ducks in the pond.(2 years now)As we have fairly good weather they do not migrate. Amongst then is a pair of Coots who have already raised a clutch of 4 eggs. They are extremely good and protective parents and raised them until they flew the coop. Unfortunately 1 of them got a huge fishing lure with fishing line stuck in the foot, he or her were so tired from trying to get loose that we were able to catch him and remove it. After 2 weeks he was still hopping around so we caught him again only to disover another piece of fish hook stuck in the joint. We took it out and took it to the vet who gave him an antibiotic injection. I have put him back where we found him and hopefully he will survive even if he hops on 1 foot. I have to try and give him a bit of antiobiotic in a piece of bread for 4 days. Fortunately he does feed when I feed the ducks. Hold thumbs.
Lesley, thanks for caring! Charlie
Lesley, you are fortunate to live in a country where you can take a wild bird to a veterinarian without breaking the law or getting the bird killed for your efforts.
Coots are unusual in their egalitarian tendency to flock with other species, and quickly form bonds with humans. I assume that you have Eurasian coots over there, and it would be interesting to know if they behave the same as our coots.
I just put up the Coot News for September, and you can read about the horrors we have over here at beakycoot.com.
Cliff