Family:
The American coot is a plump waterbird with a rounded head and a thick, pointed sloping bill, closely resembling the Eurasian coot. Its plumage is mostly greyish-black, with white undertail coverts. The bill is white with by a dark band near the tip and it has a small purple patch on the white facial shield. The eyes are red, and the legs and feet are yellowy-green.
Also known as the mud hen or pouldeau, the American coot can be distinguished from the Eurasian coot by its purple forehead marking, white undertail coverts, and the dark tip on its bill, which are all absent in its European counterpart.
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American coots primarily feed on aquatic vegetation, especially algae, but they also consume arthropods, small fish, and other aquatic prey. During the breeding season, they provide their chicks with aquatic insects and molluscs.
The American coot is found across North America from southern Canada to northern South America. Northern populations migrate south for the winter. It lives anywhere near water such as ponds, slow-moving rivers, marshes, reservoirs, lakes, ditches, salt marshes, inlets, and urban parks.
