A newly hatched American coot chick shows off its colorful ornamental plumes, beak, and naked head. The bright colors of coot chicks help their parents choose favorites, according to a new study. The ...

A small duck-like bird, the American Coot’s black body, red eyes, and white beak makes it one of the more easily identified waterfowl. A flock of coots is sometimes called a “commotion” or a “swarm.” ...

A study examines ornamentation in juvenile American coots. Ornamental traits, such as bright-colored plumage, are known to benefit courtship and increase mating success in animals. However, the ...

What looks like a duck, floats like a duck and swims like a duck, isn’t always a duck! My wife Laurie and I were reminded of this while watching American coots during our winter vacation in Southern ...

Ever heard of an American coot? I hadn’t until I joined a few birder groups and saw photos of the bird, which is has quite a dramatic look. It’s a plump, dark grey bird with a bright white triangular ...

American coots hang out with ducks, and so it is tempting to describe the coot as an odd duck. But the coot is not a duck at all but a member of the rail family. It's more closely related to moorhens, ...

There is an old saying “If it looks like a duck and acts like a duck, then it must be a duck.” However, there is a species of bird that is often mistaken for a duck because of its appearance and ...

One early spring day, Barb and Joe Rogers, managers of Wildlife Recovery Association, happily watched a coot as it slowly worked its way along the edge of Little Swamp Sanctuary's wetland, pushing ...

The American coot is a somewhat drab water bird with gray and black feathers and a white beak, common in wetlands throughout North America. Coot chicks, however, sport outrageously bright orange and ...