AMERICAN COOT

 

1379                  AMERICAN COOT                   Fulica americana

USA.            31

The American coot, also known as a mud hen or pouldeau, is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related to ducks, belonging to a separate order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step to facilitate walking on dry land.Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies in North America. Groups of coots are called covers or rafts. The oldest known coot lived to be 22 years old.

The American coot is a migratory bird that occupies most of North America. It lives in the Pacific and southwestern United States and Mexico year-round and occupies more northeastern regions during the summer breeding season. In the winter they can be found as far south as Panama. American coots eat primarily algae and other aquatic plants but also animals (both vertebrates and invertebrates) when available.

The American coot is closely related to the Eurasian coot (Fulica atra), which occupies the same ecological niche in Eurasia and Australia as the American coot does in North America. Eurasian coots can be distinguished from this species by the absence of a red callus above the bird's frontal shield.