Coot

The Coot is predominantly black with a slight bluish sheen, contrasting sharply with its white bill and frontal shield. Its body is rounded and plump, with a short tail and lobed feet adapted for swimming. The eyes are distinctive, with a bright red iris.

Juveniles have a duller plumage, often appearing dark grey or brown, with a paler throat and breast. They lack the bright white bill of adults, instead having a darker bill that gradually lightens with age.

Coots can appear quarrelsome and combative and males will often call with a sharp metallic click of a sound sometimes repeated with a noise similar to ‘kick’ or ‘kick – kick’.

Eurasian Coots are widespread throughout Europe and can be found extending eastwards into India, Sri Lanka and central Asia, Indonesia, New Guinea, New Zealand, Tasmania and Australia. They are also found in the north Atlantic islands of the Azores and the Canaries and along the coast of North Africa. Whilst many Eurasian coots are resident all year, those found in northern and eastern Europe migrate during the winter months to sub-Saharan Africa and South East Asia.

The Eurasian coot is mainly a fresh water wading bird that prefers relatively shallow large open lakes, reservoirs, ponds and gravel pits with static or slow moving water. Out of the breeding season in the winter they will also choose salt water estuaries and inshore seawater. As well as foraging for food at the bottom of lakes and ponds coots can also be found grazing on grasses along nearby shores. The white bill and facial shield are a unique reference for identification in addition to some fairly unusual feet and loud short vocalisations.

Tadpoles, snails and other small aquatic creatures are eaten but more commonly the coot has a predominantly vegetarian diet of aquatic plants, algae and grasses taken from the waters surface or adjacent land. The bird dives easily to forage at the bottom of fresh water lakes or reservoirs bobbing back up to the surface to eat its catch.

Nests are built by the male and female and constructed of reeds, leaves, roots and twigs and normally built in water from the ground upwards close to surrounding vegetation or overhanging tree branches. Less common are floating nests. One brood, occasionally two, consisting of between 6 – 10 eggs is produced, dependent upon location in the northern hemisphere between March to September (apart from India where the season is November to December) and between August to February in the southern hemisphere. Eggs are incubated by both parents for twenty one to twenty six days and fledging occurs an average of fifty five to sixty days after hatching.

Coots are highly social birds, often seen in large flocks on open water. They are excellent swimmers and divers, using their lobed feet to propel themselves underwater when foraging.

On land, they walk with a distinctive bobbing gait, and when threatened, they can run across the water's surface, flapping their wings to gain speed.

Life expectancy for a Eurasian coot is up to fifteen years.

While the Coot is currently listed as Least Concern due to its wide distribution and large population, it faces localised threats from habitat loss and degradation. Conservation efforts focus on protecting and restoring wetland habitats, which benefit Coots and many other waterbird species.

The adult male Eurasian coot has a deep black coloured head and neck with a paler dark grey body. The secondary flight feathers have white tips giving a pale back edge to the inner wing easily visible during flight. The eye is a prominent deep red in colour and the bill is white and extends from the base of the upper mandible into a white facial shield between the eyes and on to the forehead. This is similar in style to the red face shield of the smaller Common Moorhen, also known as a Eurasian Moorhen. The coot’s legs are yellow and grey and its feet are large and pale grey with toes which are almost bulbous and are technically known as being ‘lobate’. The adult female is similar to the male but generally marginally smaller although both are relatively heavily built in comparison to their overall size. Juveniles are more of a brownish grey hue overall with a greyish white throat and underparts and a yellowy bill.