American Coot
(FulicaAmericana)
Photographed in Dana Point, California Jul 2008
Often
mistaken for a duck, the American Coot is a common water bird. It’s all black
body and white chicken-like beak distinguishes this swimming rail from the real
ducks.
Although
it swims like a duck, the American Coot does not have webbed feet like a duck.
Instead of having all the toes connected by webs, each coot toe has lobes on
the sides of each segment.
An
awkward and often clumsy flier, the coot requires long running takeoffs across
the water’s surface to become airborne.
Although
the coot will consume grains, grasses, and agricultural crops on land, it
generally forages in or under water, where it is almost exclusively an
herbivore.
No comments:
Post a Comment