#1030 · 🐦 birds

American Coot

🇳🇱 Amerikaanse Meerkoet ·Fulica americana

LCleast concern 🐦 Birds 📍 in Europe, not in NL

10 photos from iNaturalist (Creative Commons) · credits & licences

1. © Pierce Louderback · CC BY-NC 4.0
2. © DigiBirdTrek · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0
3. © Pedro Genaro Rodriguez · CC BY-NC 4.0
4. © John Murnane · CC BY-NC 4.0
5. © Donna Pomeroy · CC BY-NC 4.0
6. © Jodi Forster · CC BY-NC 4.0
7. © Kosuke Saita · CC BY-NC 4.0
8. © Andrea Kreuzhage · CC BY-NC 4.0
9. © Justin Flint · CC BY 4.0
10. © z7nikon · CC BY-NC 4.0

what is it?

The American coot ( Fulica americana ), also known as a mud hen , is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken to be ducks, American coots belong to a distinct order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies in North America....

base stats

NL sightings 0iNaturalist, research grade
worldwide 158,915iNaturalist observations
threat LCleast concern

Bars compare against all animals on log scales: up to 300,000 Dutch and 600,000 worldwide sightings (the most-seen species), 150 t (blue whale), 30 m and 400 years (Greenland shark).

fun facts

No confirmed wild sightings in the Netherlands on iNaturalist: you'd have to travel for this one.
158,915 observations worldwide on iNaturalist.
Scientifically named by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in 1789 (237 years ago).