The red-knobbed coot or crested coot, (''Fulica cristata''), is a member of the rail and crake
bird
Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweigh ...
family, 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 a resident breeder across much of
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
and in southernmost
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
on freshwater lakes and ponds. It builds a nest of dead reeds near the water's edge or more commonly afloat, laying about 7 eggs (or more in good conditions).
[Liversidge, Richard. “The birds around us: Birds of the Southern African region” Pub: Fontein 1991 ]
Taxonomy
The red-knobbed coot was
formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist
Johann Friedrich Gmelin
, fields =
, workplaces = University of GöttingenUniversity of Tübingen
, alma_mater = University of Tübingen
, doctoral_advisor = Philipp Friedrich GmelinFerdinand Christoph Oetinger
, academic_advisors =
, doctora ...
in his revised and expanded edition of
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 ...
's ''
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 ...
''. He placed it with all the other coots in the
genus
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus com ...
''
Fulica'' and coined the
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 cristata''. Gmelin based his account on the earlier descriptions by the French naturalist
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon
Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon (; 7 September 1707 – 16 April 1788) was a French naturalist, mathematician, cosmologist, and encyclopédiste.
His works influenced the next two generations of naturalists, including two prominent Fr ...
and the English ornithologist
John Latham, neither of whom had included a binomial name. They gave the
type locality as
Madagascar
Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...
. The genus ''Fulica'' had been introduced in 1758 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 the
tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The genus name is the
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 ...
word for a
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 ...
. The specific epithet ''cristata'' is from Latin ''cristatus'' meaning "crested" or "plumed". The species is
monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unispec ...
: no
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.
Description
![Red-knobbed coot (Fulica cristata) non-breeding](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/27/Red-knobbed_coot_%28Fulica_cristata%29_non-breeding.jpg)
The red-knobbed coot is largely black except for the 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 ...
. It is long, spans across the wings. Males weigh , females are slightly smaller and weigh . The sexes are alike. As a swimming species, it has partial webbing on its long strong toes. The juvenile is paler than the adult, has a whitish breast, and lacks the facial shield; the adult's black plumage develops when about 3–4 months old, but the white shield is only fully developed at about one year old, some time later.
A good view is necessary to separate this species from the
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 ...
, with which its range overlaps in northwestern
Africa and southern Iberia. There are two tiny red knobs at the top of the facial shield, which are not visible at any great distance and are only present in the breeding season; the black feathering between the shield and the bill is rounded, whereas in Eurasian it comes to a point; and the bill has a bluish grey tinge. In flight, the red-knobbed coot lacks the white trailing edge to the
secondaries of the Eurasian coot.
[
]
Behaviour
The habits of the red-knobbed coot are practically identical to those of the Eurasian coot. It is much less secretive than most of the rail family. Where it is undisturbed it is likely to bully any intruder, even large birds such as Egyptian geese, if they do not defy its challenges.[ It can be seen swimming on open water or walking across waterside grasslands. It is an aggressive species, and strongly territorial during the breeding season.
The red-knobbed coot 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 (to escape a rival, for example, or to dispute possession of a choice morsel). It bobs its head as it swims, and makes short dives from a little jump.
]
Breeding
The nest is a bulky platform of reeds and plant stems placed in shallow water. It is built by both sexes. The clutch of 5–7 eggs are laid at daily intervals. The eggs are incubated by both sexes for 18–25 days and hatch asynchronously. The downy 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 ...
chicks leave the nest after one day and are then fed and cared for by both parents for 55–60 days.[
]
Food and feeding
The red-knobbed coot is an omnivore, and will take a variety of small live prey including the eggs of other water birds. Its main food in most waters however comprises various waterweeds such as species of Potamogeton
''Potamogeton'' is a genus of aquatic, mostly freshwater, plants of the family Potamogetonaceae. Most are known by the common name pondweed, although many unrelated plants may be called pondweed, such as Canadian pondweed (''Elodea canadensis'' ...
for which it commonly dives.[MacLean, Gordon L., Roberts, Austin; “Roberts Birds of Southern Africa”. Pub. Hyperion Books 1988. ]
This is a noisy bird during mating, but its vocalisations are quite different from the Eurasian coot. It gives a fast ''kerrre'' like the little crake
The little crake (''Zapornia parva'') is a very small waterbird of the family Rallidae. ''parva'' is Latin for "small".
Its breeding habitat is reed beds in Europe, mainly in the east, and just into western Asia. This species is migratory, wi ...
, a harsh ''ka-haa'' and a grunting hoot "oot oot" that suggests that the name "coot" might be onomatopoeia, but inspection of the etymology of "coot" fairly decisively negates any such suggestion.
References
Sources
* ''Rails'' by Taylor and van Perlo,
* Forsman, Dick (1991) Aspects of identification of Crested Coot ''Dutch Birding
''Dutch Birding'', originally subtitled ''Journal of the Dutch Birding Association'', and currently subtitled ''International journal on Palaearctic birds'', is an ornithological magazine published by the Amsterdam-based Dutch Birding Association ...
'' 13(4): 121-25
External links
* Red-knobbed coot
Species text in The Atlas of Southern African Birds
Red-knobbed coot videos, photos & sounds
on the Internet Bird Collection
{{Taxonbar, from=Q748033
red-knobbed coot
The red-knobbed coot or crested coot, (''Fulica cristata''), is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae.
It is a resident breeder across much of Africa and in southernmost Spain on freshwater lakes and ponds. It builds a nest o ...
Birds of East Africa
Birds of North Africa
Birds of Southern Africa
Birds of Europe
red-knobbed coot
The red-knobbed coot or crested coot, (''Fulica cristata''), is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae.
It is a resident breeder across much of Africa and in southernmost Spain on freshwater lakes and ponds. It builds a nest o ...
red-knobbed coot
The red-knobbed coot or crested coot, (''Fulica cristata''), is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae.
It is a resident breeder across much of Africa and in southernmost Spain on freshwater lakes and ponds. It builds a nest o ...