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The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
, the
Rallidae The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, althoug ...
. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-black body, a glossy black head and a white bill with a white
frontal shield A frontal shield, also known as a facial shield or frontal plate, is a feature of the anatomy of several bird species. Located just above the upper mandible, and protruding along the forehead, it is composed of two main parts: a hard, proteinaceo ...
. The sexes are similar. Similar looking coot species are found throughout the world, with the largest variety of coot species living in South America.


Taxonomy

The Eurasian coot was formally described by the Swedish naturalist
Carl Linnaeus Carl Linnaeus (; 23 May 1707 – 10 January 1778), also known after his ennoblement in 1761 as Carl von Linné Blunt (2004), p. 171. (), was a Swedish botanist, zoologist, taxonomist, and physician who formalised binomial nomenclature, the ...
in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''
Systema Naturae ' (originally in Latin written ' with the ligature æ) is one of the major works of the Swedish botanist, zoologist and physician Carl Linnaeus (1707–1778) and introduced the Linnaean taxonomy. Although the system, now known as binomial nomen ...
'' under its current
binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called nomenclature ("two-name naming system") or binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, bot ...
''Fulica atra''. Linnaeus specified the
locality Locality may refer to: * Locality (association), an association of community regeneration organizations in England * Locality (linguistics) * Locality (settlement) * Suburbs and localities (Australia), in which a locality is a geographic subdivis ...
as Europe but this is now restricted to Sweden. The binomial name is from
Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...
: ''Fulica'' means "coot", and ''atra'' means "black". Four
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
are recognised: * ''F. a. atra'' Linnaeus, 1758 – Europe and north Africa to Japan, India, southeast Asia, Philippines and Borneo * ''F. a. lugubris'' Müller, S, 1847 – Java, Bali, northwest New Guinea * ''F. a. novaeguineae''
Rand The RAND Corporation (from the phrase "research and development") is an American nonprofit global policy think tank created in 1948 by Douglas Aircraft Company to offer research and analysis to the United States Armed Forces. It is financed ...
, 1940 – central New Guinea * ''F. a. australis''
Gould Gould may refer to: People * Gould (name), a surname Places United States * Gould, Arkansas, a city * Gould, Colorado, an unincorporated community * Gould, Ohio, an unincorporated community * Gould, Oklahoma, a town * Gould, West Virginia, a ...
, 1845 – Australia and New Zealand An extinct subspecies ''F. atra pontica'', has been described from the
Chalcolithic The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and  ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...
(around 4800-4400 BP) from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast.


Description

The Eurasian coot is in length with a wing-span of ; males weigh around and females . It is largely black except for the white bill and
frontal shield A frontal shield, also known as a facial shield or frontal plate, is a feature of the anatomy of several bird species. Located just above the upper mandible, and protruding along the forehead, it is composed of two main parts: a hard, proteinaceo ...
(which gives rise to the phrase "as
bald Hair loss, also known as alopecia or baldness, refers to a loss of hair from part of the head or body. Typically at least the head is involved. The severity of hair loss can vary from a small area to the entire body. Inflammation or scarrin ...
as a coot", in use as early as 1430). As a swimming species, the coot has partial webbing on its long strong toes. The sexes are similar in appearance. The juvenile is paler than the adult, has a whitish breast, and lacks the facial shield; the adult black plumage develops when about 3–4 months old, but the white shield is only fully developed at about one year old. The Eurasian coot is a noisy bird with a wide repertoire of crackling, explosive, or trumpeting calls, often given at night.


Distribution and habitat

The coot breeds across much of the
Old World The "Old World" is a term for Afro-Eurasia that originated in Europe , after Europeans became aware of the existence of the Americas. It is used to contrast the continents of Africa, Europe, and Asia, which were previously thought of by the ...
on freshwater lakes and ponds. It occurs and breeds in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. The species has recently expanded its range into New Zealand. It is resident in the milder parts of its range, but migrates further south and west from much of Asia in winter as the waters freeze.


Behaviour and ecology

The Eurasian coot is much less secretive than most of the rail family, and can be seen swimming on open water or walking across waterside grasslands. It is an aggressive species, and strongly territorial during the breeding season, and both parents are involved in territorial defence. During the non-breeding season they may form large flocks, possibly related to predator avoidance. It is reluctant to fly and when taking off runs across the water surface with much splashing. It does the same, but without actually flying, when travelling a short distance at speed in territorial disputes or on land to escape from intruders. As with many rails, its weak flight does not inspire confidence, but on migration, usually at night, it can cover surprisingly large distances. It bobs its head as it swims, and makes short dives from a little jump. When fighting other waterbirds (especially other coots), the coot attacks by charging its opponent and striking them with its long legs.


Breeding

The nest is a bulky structure that either floats on the water or is built in shallow water on a low or barely submerged stump or log, making a neat, large bowl. It is constructed of plant stems and leaves with a lining of finer material. Normally concealed in vegetation the nest can sometimes be placed in the open. It is built by both sexes with the male collecting most of the material which is incorporated by the female. The eggs are laid at daily intervals. The
clutch A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
usually contains between six and ten smooth and slightly glossy buff coloured eggs that are covered with black or dark brown speckles. On average they are and weigh . The eggs are incubated by both sexes beginning after the second egg is laid and hatch asynchronously after 21 to 24 days. The chicks are
precocial In biology, altricial species are those in which the young are underdeveloped at the time of birth, but with the aid of their parents mature after birth. Precocial species are those in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the mome ...
and nidifugous. The chicks are covered with a black down. On the body the down has yellow hair-like tips. On the sides of the head, nape and throat the hair-like tips are longer and orange-red. Between the eyes and on the lores, the tips are red. The shield is bright red and the bill is red with a white tip. The young are brooded by the female for the first three to four days during which time food is brought by the male. The male also builds one or more platforms that is used for roosting and brooding the chicks. On leaving the nest, the brood is sometimes split up with each parent taking care of a separate group. The young can feed themselves when they are around 30 days and fledge at 55 to 60 days. Eurasian coots normally only have a single brood each year but in some areas such as Britain they will sometimes attempt a second brood. They first breed when they are one to two years old. Chick mortality occurs mainly due to starvation rather than predation. Most chicks died in the first 10 days after hatching, when they are most dependent on adults for food. Coots can be very brutal to their own young under pressure such as the lack of food. They will bite young that are
begging Begging (also panhandling) is the practice of imploring others to grant a favor, often a gift of money, with little or no expectation of reciprocation. A person doing such is called a beggar or panhandler. Beggars may operate in public place ...
for food and repeatedly do this until it stops begging. If the begging continues, they may bite so hard that the chick is killed. Coots will also lay their eggs in the nests of other coots when their environment or physical condition limits their ability to breed, or to lengthen their reproductive life. Eurasian coot (Fulica atra) with chicks.jpg, adult with chicks, Trujillo, Spain Eurasian coot (Fulica atra) juvenile.jpg, chick in
Marais Audomarois The Marais Audomarois is a wetland biosphere reserve in the north of France. The renowned Ramsar site covers some 22 300 hectares, including the city Saint-Omer. Geography The Audomarois landscape owes its richness to its particular geograph ...
, France Baby Eurasian coot foraging (52284).webm, Chick picking through wet leaves in Sweden


Feeding

The coot is an omnivore, and will take a variety of small live prey including the eggs of other water birds, as well as
algae Algae (; singular alga ) is an informal term for a large and diverse group of photosynthetic eukaryotic organisms. It is a polyphyletic grouping that includes species from multiple distinct clades. Included organisms range from unicellular mic ...
, vegetation, seeds and fruit. It shows considerable variation in its feeding techniques, grazing on land or in the water. In the water it may upend in the fashion of a
mallard The mallard () or wild duck (''Anas platyrhynchos'') is a dabbling duck that breeds throughout the temperate and subtropical Americas, Eurasia, and North Africa, and has been introduced to New Zealand, Australia, Peru, Brazil, Uruguay, Arge ...
or dive in search of food.


Status

The Eurasian coot is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' (
AEWA The Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds, or African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA) is an independent international treaty developed under the auspices of the United Nations Environment Programme's Conventio ...
) applies.


References


Sources

*


External links

*
Ageing and sexing (PDF; 1.8 MB) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta & Gerd-Michael Heinze


* * * {{Taxonbar, from=Q25376
Eurasian coot The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...
Birds of Eurasia Birds of North Africa Birds of Oceania
Eurasian coot The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...
Eurasian coot The Eurasian coot (''Fulica atra''), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa. It has a slaty-bla ...
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