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Family Photograph - American Coot and babies

This American coot was busy feeding her babies on a sunny morning at Frank lake, Alberta, Canada.

 

Baby coots are called cooties.

 

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 mucky ground.

 

The American coot, is a bird of the family Rallidae. Though commonly mistaken for ducks, American coots are only distantly related to ducks, belonging to a separate order.

-Fulica americana

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Uploaded on July 27, 2024
Taken on July 5, 2024