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Description: | The call of the coot recorded at Frensham Great Pond, Surrey. This dumpy water bird is immediately recognised by its slate-black plumage, which contrasts with a white bill and frontal shield on the forehead, making the bird appear bald, and giving rise to the phrase 'as bald as a coot'. The coot is generally found on larger water bodies than the moorhen and often accompanies duck and swans as it feeds above and below the surface of the water for a range of aquatic plants, mussels, aquatic snails, and larvae. During the breeding season, males become quarrelsome and frequently squabble over territory, often using the white frontal shield as part of their threat posture in aggressive displays. This behaviour is often accompanied by a call, a single note 'kowk'. The nest is built among reeds and other aquatic vegetation often close to other coot nests, but can also be out in the open with very little surrounding cover. In winter, large expanses of water may well attract high numbers of coots. The coot has benefited from the boom in the building industry, which demand huge quantities of sand and gravel provide a wealth of flooded gravel pits. The coot is widely distributed with populations highest in the English lowlands and in summer there are 46,000 adults. | License: | http://www.bl.uk/services/copy/permission.html | Rights holder: | British Library | Subjects: | Bird Wildlife sounds Freshwater | Source: | Collect Britain | Creator: | Williams, Aubrey John | Identifier: | http://www.collectbritain.co.uk/personal... | Language: | en-GB | Go to resource |
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