The Eurasian Coot

The Eurasian Coot or “Fulica atra”

An Article by DaveG with The Voice Fuerteventura

If you play golf here in Fuerteventura, you will be familiar with this little bird. They have settled in nicely to the various ponds and lakes on the golf courses. They can also be found at the man-made dam near Los Molinos and other areas where water is gathered. 

WHAT TO LOOK FOR 

The Eurasian Coot, with its sooty-black plumage and gleaming white bill and frontal shield covering its forehead, is a familiar bird across Europe and Asia as well as Australia. It is often seen running across the water’s surface or swimming in huge flocks on large wetlands, but they equally often occur on small ponds. Nestlings are downy, black with fine yellow tips. The head is orange-red and the bill is red with a cream-white tip.

‘AS BALD AS A COOT’ 

The featherless shield gave rise to the expression “as bald as a coot,” which the Oxford English Dictionary cites in use as early as 1430. Like other rails, they have long, lobed toes that are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. Coots have strong legs and can walk and run vigorously. They tend to have short, rounded wings and are weak fliers, though northern species nevertheless can cover long distances. 

SIMILAR SPECIES

The only bird with which the Eurasian Coot can be confused is the similarly sized Moorhen. These species are often found together, but the Moorhen has a reddish-orange head shield and bill, with a yellow tip.

FEEDING

Food is mainly obtained during underwater dives, lasting up to 15 seconds and ranging down to 7 m in depth. Birds also graze on the land and on the surface of the water. In Australia, Eurasian Coots feed almost entirely on vegetable matter, supplemented with only a few insects, worms and fish. Birds of the northern hemisphere tend to take much more animal prey.

BREEDING

Eurasian Coots may breed at any time that conditions are favourable, and may produce successive broods. During the breeding season pairs establish and maintain territories with vigour. Their aggression is also extended towards other species. Nests of ducks are often seized and used as roosting sites, the unfortunate owner’s eggs being pushed off into the water. Young ducks and grebes are sometimes killed. The nest is often a floating raft of vegetation or is built on logs or tree stumps that are surrounded by water. Both sexes share incubation and care of the young. If food becomes scarce, the young birds may be killed by the parents.