What’s that small black duck with a white bill?
VICKSBURG, MISS. — As autumn deepens across North America, waterfowl numbers are swelling in lakes, rivers, ponds, and even puddles. You might be seeing some new birds on the water near you. And every year, there’s one bird that seems to get people especially curious. It’s smaller than a Mallard, its head and body are black, and its bill is white. It’s usually found in swimming in groups, often in parks and other areas near people. But what is it called?
The black “duck” with a white beak is an American Coot
Here’s a picture of a coot (Fulica americana):
If you look closely, you can see the American Coot’s bright red eye and dark reddish forehead knob, the dark ring near the end of its bill, and white under its tail. (Note: If you live in Europe or another part of the world, odds are you have a similar-looking but slightly different coot species in your area. There are several species around the world, including the very widespread Eurasian Coot in Europe, north Africa, Asia, and Australia.)
At this point, you may be thinking that this sort of looks like the birds you saw, but you aren’t quite sure. Maybe you’re thinking something like this: But the birds I saw were darker black or slate gray. Or, I didn’t see the red eye, forehead knob, or ring on the bill. Or, The birds I saw were bigger/smaller than that. Don’t worry. No other North American bird shares the coot’s dark body plumage and bright white bill. Light and distance can affect how you perceive a bird, and which details you see or remember. If you got the white bill and the blackish head and body, you got a coot. Now, here’s step two.
Coots aren’t ducks
Yes, they float and swim like ducks. But lots of different birds do that. Aside from their swimming habits, coots are actually quite different from ducks. Start by studying the coot’s bill shape:
See how pointed the coot’s bill is? And it’s a little bit laterally compressed. That means it’s slightly flattened on the sides, as if you took it between your palms with your thumbs facing up and gave it a little squeeze. You can even see the bird’s nostrils — slits about halfway down the the sides of its bill. All this is very different from a blunt, flat, shovel-shaped duck bill with nostrils on top.
And there’s more. We often see coots swimming in the water, but if you see one on land, be sure to check out its feet. Here’s a beautiful shot by markjdos.
Look at those long, lobed toes! Totally different from ducks’ fully webbed (and much shorter) feet. Coots’ toes are suitable for swimming but also for walking around in dense, wet reeds and vegetation.
So if coots aren’t ducks, what are they?
Coot family tree
Coots belong to a family that includes rails, gallinules, and moorhens. Here’s a very colorful coot relative, the Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica). Notice the similarities in its head and bill structure. It has long toes like a coot, but they aren’t lobed. Purple Gallinules spend less time swimming and more time creeping through dense vegetation.
And here’s another family member, the Clapper Rail (Rallus longirostris), which lives in saltmarshes, where it often remains hidden in thick grasses.
Coots, gallinules, and rails are in an order called Gruiformes, along with the big, stately cranes and a handful of other birds like the Limpkin (familiar to many Florida residents), and a few odd birds of the South American rain forests. The order name Gruiformes comes from the Latin word grus, which means “crane.” These words are similar in many European languages; they all came from an ancient Indo-European root word.
So now when you see coots mixed in with domestic ducks at the park…
…or grazing on grass and other plants on the lawn…
…you will know their name and a little bit more about them. Enjoy the coots!
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Nice close-ups of those technicolor feet!
Lovely photos! It’s interesting to see the differences between the American coot and the European coot found over here in the UK. I love coots’ feet, and the photo of them here is excellent!
Great to see you back at “home” at Search and Serendipity! Looking forward to your continued posts!
Today was the very first time I have ever seen an American Coot..and to tell you the truth I would love to see them again!! I don’t know how long they will be in Tennessee but I hope its for a long time. They are amazing!
I thought I was seeing things when I noticed this creature swimming around a retention pond here in the city. I only saw a single bird which seems odd , especially since the article mentions that they travel in groups. It was a nice change from the mallards, Canadian geese and the gulls that frequent Indianpolis, IN.
I just saw a group of coots for the first time myself today. I thought it was a group of black ducks. They were fishing in the water so I did not get to see those amazing feet. They are all the way up here in northern illinois. Quite amazing!
Вчера в Горелово (Санкт-Петербург) в небольшом пруду наблюдали ПАРУ лысух в обществе обыкновенных уток. Кормили уток внучки, но лысухи робели, возможно, боялись собаки. Размер ЭТИХ необычных для наших мест птиц такаой же, как и у “наших уток”, правда, БЕЛОГО цвета оперенья”сзади” не заметил.
Kayaking on a lake in Montana today I saw my first large group of American Coots. I got quite close to them as they fed on the plant life in the shallow cove. Unfortunately, I didn’t see their feet. Wish I had, they are spectacular!
thanks for this great article! I stumbled upon a huge flock of these birds for the first time today in a public park I always go to, and took many pictures, came home and easily identified the American Coot when I read this.
We have more coots than ever here this year. I am not sure why the population explosion but it looks just like the picture above with the coots and ducks mingling happily together.
Coots are here! San Francisco salt water and Fremont fresh water. New Years 2012.
Randomly say one lone coot mixed in with a bunch of mallards this afternoon at Meyer Park in northwest Houston, TX.
I recently spotted a coot in the Central Park Reservoir in NYC. Just one, with velvet black feathers. Thanks for helping solve the mystery of this fabulous bird’s identity!
Thanks for the awesome article!!! I learned a lot about these beautiful little birds from you..
I saw these birds on a vacation to South Carolina. They were on the Savannah River by Augusta, GA’s riverwalk. They were so beautiful and had such cool feet!!! Thanks for helping me find out what they were.
Does anyone know why Coots would bamd together in large, dense groups? More than 50 birds floating so close together that they’re actually touching. Two nights in a row we’ve witnessed this behavior – and no one has ever seen them do it before. It’s been very warm here (highs in the 80′s ), but other than that nothing unusual…
A few will break off from the group if food is offered, but the majority stays in formation.
We have a beautiful marsh area behind our home. My Golden Retriever and I have been observing a very large flock of beautiful American Coots. So glad I was able to learn about them on your website. I wonder if they will stay the entire year?
What a charmingly written article. We truly appreciated it up here in Ontario where Spring has just arrived.
We had a group of five American Coots swimming in Lake Belle View in Belleville, WI this morning. I got three photos which with my phone which are not spectacular, but are clear enough to prove they are American Coots. I’ve never seen them in this area.
Have 2 coots in our lake now. Did not know what they were until someone told me and then I googled them. Interesting
Have 2 coots in our lake now. Did not know what they were until someone told me and then I googled them. Interesting article. I live in southern Indiana.