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364 Hand-Rearing Birds

Figure 22.1 American Coot chick, note semi-bald head with bright colorful plumage. Source: photo
courtesy of International Bird Rescue.

(a) (b)

Figure 22.2 (a) Semi-lobate toes of an American Coot. Source: photo courtesy of International Bird Rescue.
(b) Non-semi-lobate toes of a Common Gallinule chick. Source: photo courtesy of International Bird Rescue.

Coots occupy a variety of habitats, ranging from shallow freshwater wetlands with cattails, to
prairie potholes, to swamps and marshes, to suburban park and sewage ponds, to the edges of large
lakes. They prefer areas of standing water with a muddy bottom. They are common in wetlands
having a mixed coverage of tall, exposed vegetation along with open water, mudflats, and areas
with matted vegetation. Although often found in shallow freshwater areas, they can also occupy
deeper wetlands and saltmarshes.
American Coots mainly eat aquatic plants and insects, such as algae, duckweed, and eelgrass.
When on land, they pick at terrestrial plants and sometimes eat seeds, beetles, snails, spiders, flies,
small fish, slugs, crayfish, and frogs. Typically, they probe the surface of muddy and silty‐bottomed
wetlands for prey at dawn and dusk (Brisbin Jr. and Mowbray 2002).