What Is That Black Duck With the White Beak?

Courtesy Jennifer Cummings

Sometimes treasures happen when you aren’t even looking. While on a small lake hoping to capture some good photos of the geese flying south, I found a bird I knew nothing about in the water. It looks like a black duck with a white beak. This is an American coot.

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What Does an American Coot Look Like?

Birds & Blooms

American coots are related to the rails. If you get a good look at this black water bird, notice the white chicken-like beak (bill) and frontal shield. They also have partially lobed toes, not webbed feet like ducks, and red eyes.

Initially you might have thought the American coot is a duck, or perhaps a goose. The most noticeable field mark for the black colored bird is the white bill, which is compressed vertically rather than horizontally like a duck. The American coot also has a black spot on the end of the bill.

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American Coot Range and Migration

Courtesy Alexander Viduetsky

Despite generally being an aggressive bird when fighting for territory, coots are often seen swimming together in large numbers. Hesitant to take flight, coots will often flap frantically as they scurry along the water’s surface.

Their breeding range covers most of the northern half of the United States. They then migrate to spend winter in the southern states or Central America.

In the Northwest and Southwest it is common to see the coot all year long. They may migrate short distances from inland to the coastal regions.

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What Foods Do American Coots Eat?

Sandy Scott/Getty Images

They look graceful as they coast along in the water, and it is fun to watch them dive for food. The coot will use its head to propel itself forward, a back and forth movement, not quite bobbing, but that’s an apt description. They eat water plants and occasionally small fish or other vertebrates. On the shore, the American coot will eat grubs or bugs along with vegetation.

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What Does an American Coot Sound Like?

Bird songs courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.