COOT, a bird of the genus Fulica, belonging to the family Rallidae or rails. The European coot (Fulica atra) breeds abund antly in many of the larger inland waters of the northern parts of the Old World, in winter resorting to river mouths or shallow bays of the sea. Hunted in winter, at other times it is com paratively unmolested. The nest is a large mass of flags, reeds or sedge, among rushes in the water or on the margin, and fre quently contains as many as ten eggs. The young are beautiful little creatures, clothed in jet-black down, with heads of a bright orange-scarlet, varied with purplish-blue. This brilliant colouring is soon lost, and they assume the sooty-black plumage which is worn for the rest of their lives ; a characteristic of the adult is a bare white patch or callosity on the forehead. The coot is about 18 in. in length, and sometimes more than 2 lb. in weight. Though its wings appear to be short and it seems to rise with difficulty from the water, it is capable of long-sustained and rapid flight. It swims buoyantly, and dives with ease. When wounded it is said to clutch the weeds at the bottom. It is not often found on dry land. The feet of the coot are remarkable, the toes being fringed by a lobed membrane, to facilitate swimming and walking over the ooze.
The coot is found throughout the palaearctic region and in most other parts of the world is represented by nearly allied species, having almost the same habits. An African species (F. cristata) is distinguished by two red knobs on its forehead. The Australian and North American species (F. australis and F. americana) closely resemble the English bird; in South America half a dozen species are found, one (F. gigantea) being of consid erable size. The remains of a large extinct species (F. newtoni) were discovered in Mauritius.