File:American Coot Seedskadee National Wildlife Refuge 01 (15522192995).jpg

Although it swims like a duck, the American Coot does not have webbed feet like a duck. Instead, each one of the coot’s long toes has broad lobes of skin that help it kick through the water. The broad lobes fold back each time the bird lifts its foot, so it doesn’t impede walking on dry land, though it supports the bird’s weight on muddy ground. Coots eat mainly aquatic plants including algae, duckweed, pondweeds (sago pondweed is a favorite), sedges, and cattails. They’re not exclusively vegetarian. You may also see them eating insects (beetles, dragonflies, and others), crustaceans, snails, and small vertebrates such as tadpoles and salamanders. A slow and meticulous forager, the American Coot plucks at plants while walking or swimming, dabbling with its head just underwater, or in full dives. In flight, coots are clumsy and labored. To get airborne, coots typically have to beat their wings while running across the water for many yards. Coots are common nesters on Seedskadee NWR and gather in large flocks in the fall.

<a href="http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Coot/lifehistory" rel="nofollow">www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/American_Coot/lifehistory</a>