Coot
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| Coot Temporal range: Early Pliocene to present
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| Eurasian coot | |
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| Genus: | Fulica |
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For extinct and prehistoric species, see article text | |
Coots are small water birds that are members of the rail family, Rallidae. They constitute the genus Fulica, the name being the Latin for "coot".[1] Coots have predominantly black plumage, and—unlike many rails—they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water. They are close relatives of the moorhen.
Description
Coots have prominent frontal shields or other decoration on the forehead, with red to dark red eyes and coloured bills. Many, but not all, have white on the under tail. The featherless shield gave rise to the expression "as bald as a coot," which the Oxford English Dictionary cites in use as early as 1430. Like other rails, they have long, lobed toes that are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. Coots can swim long distance under water at great speed. Coots have strong legs and can walk and run vigorously. They tend to have short, rounded wings and are weak fliers, though northern species nevertheless can cover long distances.[citation needed]
Breeding and habitat
The greatest species variety occurs in South America, and the genus likely originated there. They are common in Europe and North America.[2] Coot species that migrate do so at night. The American coot has been observed rarely in Britain and Ireland, while the Eurasian coot is found across Asia, Australia and parts of Africa. In southern Louisiana, the coot is referred to by the French name "poule d'eau", which translates into English as "water hen" or "moorhen".[3]
Ecology and behaviour
Coots are omnivorous, eating mainly plant material, but also small animals, fish and eggs. They are aggressively territorial during the breeding season, but are otherwise often found in sizeable flocks on the shallow vegetated lakes they prefer.
Chick mortality occurs mainly due to starvation rather than predation as coots have difficulty feeding a large family of hatchlings on the tiny shrimp and insects that they collect. Most chicks die in the first 10 days after hatching, when they are most dependent on adults for food.[4] Coots can be very brutal to their own young under pressure such as the lack of food, and after about three days they start attacking their own chicks when they beg for food. After a short while, these attacks concentrate on the weaker chicks, who eventually give up begging and die. The coot may eventually raise only two or three out of nine hatchlings.[5] In this attacking behaviour, the parents are said to "tousle" their young. This can result in the death of the chick.[6]
A group of coots may be referred to as a covert[7] or cover.[8]
Species
| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
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Fulica alai Peale, 1848 | Hawaiian coot or ʻAlae keʻokeʻo | Hawaii |
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Fulica americana Gmelin, 1789 | American coot | southern Quebec to the Pacific coast of North America and as far south as northern South America |
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Fulica ardesiaca Tschudi, 1843 | Andean coot | Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru |
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Fulica armillata Vieillot, 1817 | red-gartered coot | Argentina, southern Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay |
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Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 | Eurasian coot or common coot | Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa |
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Fulica cornuta Bonaparte, 1853 | horned coot | Argentina, Bolivia, Chile |
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Fulica cristata Gmelin, 1789 | Red-knobbed coot | Africa, Iberian Peninsula |
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Fulica gigantea Eydoux & Souleyet, 1841 | giant coot | Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Peru |
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Fulica leucoptera Vieillot, 1817 | white-winged coot | Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Falkland Islands, Paraguay, Uruguay |
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Fulica rufifrons Philppi & Landbeck, 1861 | red-fronted coot | Argentina, southern Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, southern Peru, Uruguay |
Extinct species
- †Fulica newtonii Milne-Edwards, 1867 – Mascarene coot (extinct, c. 1700)
- †Fulica chathamensis Forbes, 1892 – Chatham Island coot (prehistoric)
- †Fulica prisca Hamilton, 1893 – New Zealand coot (prehistoric)
- †Fulica infelix Brodkorb, 1961 – (fossil: Early Pliocene of Juntura, Malheur County, Oregon, USA)
- †Fulica shufeldti – (fossil: Pleistocene of North America) possibly a subspecies of Fulica americana; formerly F. minor
References
- ^ Jobling, James A (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 165. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^ Olson, Storrs L. (1974). "The Pleistocene Rails of North America". Museum of Natural History.
- ^ "American Coot".
- ^ "This Coot has a Secret! - NatureOutside". 20 June 2015.
- ^ The Life of Birds, David Attenborough. The Problems of Parenthood. 10:20.
- ^ Clutton-Brock, TH., The Evolution of Parental Care, Princeton University Press, 1991 p. 203.
- ^ "What do you call a group of ...?". Oxford Dictionaries. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 19 April 2011.
- ^ "Baltimore Bird Club. Group Name for Birds: A Partial List". Retrieved 2007-06-03.
External links
- Coot videos on the Internet Bird Collection
- Beach, Chandler B., ed. (1914). . . Chicago: F. E. Compton and Co.