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American Coot

Status Locally fairly common in summer, uncommon transient, rare in winter. Breeds. In recent years it has arrived in April (Average 16 April, earliest 1 April) at its regular nesting grounds near the New Brunswick border, but elsewhere in the province it is rare in spring and summer. Gatherings of up to 75 birds have occurred in the Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary during recent autumns. It routinely appears in coastal regions in December abd a few have overwintered in Sullivans Pond, Dartmouth, in recent years, competing with ducks for bread and other offerings.

Description Length: 33-44 cm. Adults: Slaty gray all over; bill whitish gray; small red spot at base of frontal shield; head and neck somewhat darker than rest of body; white patch under tail; legs greenish gray; toes heavily scalloped.

Breeding Nest: Composed of reeds and grasses and placed among the rank vegetation bordering freshwater ponds and marshes. Eggs: 8-12; buffy white, uniformly speckled with dark brown or black. Although Hickman (1896) thought it might have nested near Pictou, the first firm evidence of nesting was a flightless young banded by Alan D. Smith at Missaguash River marsh, Cumberland County, in 1969. Since then, several broods have been reported most years at the Amherst Point Bird Sanctuary, where Mark Forbes of the Canadian Wildlife Service found 11 nests in 1982.

Range Breeds from central British Columbia, the Prairie Provinces, southern Ontario, southern Quebec, and Nova Scotia, south to Central America, northern South America, the West Indies and Hawaii. Winters from southern British Columbia and much of the United States southward.

Remarks Rails typically spend most of their time well concealed among marsh reeds, but this member of the family is an exception, for coots are commonly seen swimming on open water with the ease and grace of a swan, their heads bobbing slightly as they move. Their toes are not webbed but equipped with scallop-like flaps which serve their purpose admirably. Coots are locally known by the name "mud hen." They are killed for food by pot-hunters in parts of their range, but their slow and laboured take-off makes them of little appeal to the skilled marksman.