Common Coot
The Coot is largely black except for the white facial shield. As a
swimming species, the Common Coot has partial webbing on its long strong
toes.
The juvenile is paler than the adult, has a whitish breast, and lacks the
facial shield. The adult black plumage develops when about 4 months old,
but the white shield is only fully developed at about one year old.
Local Names: Dasari, Thekari(Hindi)
vellakokkan Kulakozhi (Malayalam)
Namakkozhi(Tamil)
These common coot species inhabit slow-flowing rivers, eutrophic lakes,
ponds, water bodies with marginal, fish ponds and
flooded plains.
The Coot is an omnivore, and will take a variety of small live prey
including the eggs of other water birds, as well as algae, vegetation,
seeds and fruit.
It shows considerable variation in its feeding techniques, grazing on
land or in the water. In the water it may upend in the fashion of a
Mallard or dive in search of food.
The function of the frontal shield is to provide protection while
moving through dense vegetation. It also serves as an ornament in
courtship display.
The nest is made with plant material like reeds, leaves and grass.
The nest is constructed as floating nest, its a large compact mass
of rushes among matted reeds slightly above the water
level.
eggs- 6-10 buffy stone coloured stippled, and spotted with reddish
brown or purple black.
References
The Book of Indian Birds (Salim Ali)
india-birds.com
indianbirds.thedynamicnature.com
Pictures:
Kaikondrahalli Lake, Bangalore
(The coots trumpet like calls can be heard echoing over the lake
which catches my attention during the morning walks. And you can
spend hours simply watching them diving in search of food and the
technique with which it comes up with a fish.)
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