- Fulica americana
Identification
L.15in (38 cm)
- Gray, duck-like bird with
- White bill and frontal shield,
- White undertail coverts, and
- Lobed toes.
Frontal shield has red swelling at upper edge, visible at close range.
Immatures similar but paler, with duller bill.
Distribution
Breeds in central and southern Canada and throughout the USA wintering in the western and southern States and the West Indies. In the east breeds north to New York and locally in New Brunswick and Quebec.
In the Caribbean, this species seems to be spreading.
The southern of the two subspecies are resident in Colombia and Ecuador.
In late summer and autumn occasionally wanders north to Newfoundland and even southern Greenland. In the Western Palearctic recorded February-April and October-November in Iceland and the Faroe Islands, Ireland, Britain, and several times in the Azores. In September 1990 recorded in the Algarve of southern Portugal and recently recorded for the first time in Spain (November 1999), with the second record a bird in Galicia in January 2003.
Taxonomy
The northern, widespread, subspecies is americana, while the southern subspecies is colombiana.
Hawaiian Coot and Slate-colored Coot have been split from American Coot. The quite free interbreeding with Caribbean Coot raises the possibility that Caribbean Coot and American Coot really is one species.
Habitat
Open ponds and marshes; in winter, also on coastal bays and inlets.
Behaviour
Nesting: 8-10 pinkish eggs, spotted with brown, on a shallow platform of dead leaves and stems, usually on water but anchored to a clump of reeds.
In the Caribbean, some mixed pairs of Caribbean and American Coot have been observed; this is worrying if these really are two full species.
Voice
A variety of clucks, cackles, grunts, and other harsh notes.
External Links
- An identification essay on the differences and similarities of this taxon with Caribbean Coot is found here
