Coot

The coots are medium-sized water birds which are members of the rail family. They constitute the genus Fulica.

These rails are all predominantly black in plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, often swimming in open water rather than skulking in reedbeds.

They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers, although northern species are nevertheless capable of covering long distances; the American Coot has reached Great Britain and Ireland on rare occasions. Those species that migrate do so at night.

These birds are omnivorous, taking mainly plant material, but also small animals and eggs. They are aggressively territorial during the breeding season, but are otherwise often found in sizeable flocks on the shallow vegetated lakes they prefer.