American Coot (Fulica americana)

The American Coot is a duck-sized aquatic bird (Family: Rallidae, Order: Gruiformes). The coot has a black body, a white beak, red eyes and a dark-red patch at the base of the beak. The coots are often found near human residence where they can have a good access to water. In Lakeport, the coots can be found in large numbers in the park near the lake. They come right at your feet asking for foods.

The "lobate" gray feet of the coot is peculiar. The feet of grebes and coots are webs are constricted at nodes and are called as lobate feet. The legs of the coot are lemon yellow with a strong greenish tinge to it.

Lakeport, CA
2008-02-04, 2008-02-07

The photo shows the coot swimming paddling with its webbed feet alternately. The coots are a member of rail family (Rallidae). The rails are aquatic birds that are more capable in swimming than flying as is the American Coot.

Other Rallidae species:

Acorn Woodpecker• American Coot• American Crow• American Robin• American White Ibis• American White Pelican• Anhinga• Audubon's Warbler• Black Phoebe• Black-Capped Chickadee• Blue Jay• Boat-Tailed Grackle• Brewer's Blackbird• Brown Pelican• Bufflehead• Canada Goose• Chestnut-Backed Chickadee• Collared-Dove• Common Gallinule• Common Goldeneye• Common Grackle• Double-Crested Cormorant• Downy Woodpecker• European Starling• Fox Sparrow• Glossy Ibis• Golden-Crowned Sparrow• Graylag Goose• **Great Blue Heron• Great Egret• Herring Gull• House Sparrow• **Killdeer• Least Bittern• Least Sandpiper• Lesser Goldfinch• Limpkin• Lincoln's Sparrow• Mallard• Mourning Dove• Northern Cardinal• Northern Mockingbird• Oak Titmouse• Osprey• Palm Warbler• Pied-Billed Grebe• Purple Finch• Red-Bellied Woodpecker• Red-Breasted Nuthatch• Red-Winged Blackbird• Ring-Billed Gull• Ringed Plover• Ruby-Crowned Kinglet• Sanderling• Sandhill Crane• Semipalmated Sandpiper• Sharp-Shinned Hawk• Short-Tailed Hawk• Snowy Egret• Song Sparrow• Spotted Towhee• Steller's Jay• Tricolored Heron• Trumpeter Swan• Tufted Titmouse• Turkey Vulture• Western Grebe• Western Gull• Western Meadowlark• Western Scrub Jay• **Western Swamphen• White-Breasted Nuthatch• White-Crowned Sparrow• Wild Turkey• Willet• Wood Stork