Eurasian Coot
Fulica atra
Family: Rallidae (Rails, Gallinules, Coot, 14 species in Australia).
Size: 32-39 cm
Distribution: Almost all of Australia except small areas in central and central-West Australia, and almost half of Southwest WA
Status: Locally Abundant to Common
Habitat: Swamps, reserviors, fresh or brackish open lakes, estuaries
References: Simpson and Day, Reader's Digest
The Eurasian Coot is a bit like a duck as it is usually seen on water (and basically always either on or near water). It has a white beak and forehead, and red eye, which distinguish it from the Dusky Moorhen (which is otherwise very similar when in the water, though it has green legs which you can see when it is walking on land). The Eurasian Coot has dark grey legs.
They have flaps of skin on their toes, but they are not fully webbed like a duck.
Photo: Wentworth Falls Lake, Blue Mountains NSW
Photo: Wentworth Falls Lake, Blue Mountains NSW
Photo: Wentworth Falls Lake, Blue Mountains NSW
Artwork: John Gould, 'The Birds of Australia', 1848. Original Scanned Image.
Some Birdwatching Resources
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Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, Nicolas Day, Ken Simpson, Peter Trusler. I think this is the best bird field guide for Australia. It is known to birdwatchers as "Simpson and Day". I also like the pictures in this one the best out
of all the major field guides. The information is still very highly regarded compared to most of the other guides. Many serious birdwatchers think "Pizzey
and Knight" is
the best though. I bought this one since I liked the pictures so
much I figured (correctly) that I would spend more time looking through it. I feel that I made the right choice since I love the pictures in this one so much. I have the 6th edition, the current one is the 8th.
Click here to purchase from Australia $45.49 AUD |
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Advanced Bird Language, Jon Young. Advanced Bird Language is an 8-CD audio set which teaches you how to interpret bird language, and other aspects of naturalist awareness. Note that these are not recordings of actual bird calls used to learn to identify which bird sounds like which call — rather they are a series of talks where Jon teaches you how to learn, by observing the birds yourself, what the birds are saying by their calls, their body language, and their other behaviours. The teachings are from North America but they apply to any country.
Click here to purchase from Wilderness Awareness School $74.95 USD |
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