Giant coot coot, the giant coot is monogamous and the pair builds a huge nest in a highland lake. However, unlike the horned coot, the nest of the giant coot is primarily made of aquatic vegetation and – as it is fiercely territorial – it never forms colonies. Giant coot The giant coot ("Fulica gigantea") is a species of coot from South America. It is found at lakes in the altiplano from central Peru, through western Bolivia, to north-eastern Chile and extreme north-western Argentina. With a total length of 48–64 cm (19–25 in), it is the second largest extant member of the
New Zealand coot in), though it was still probably able to fly. It was also more terrestrial, with its remains discovered in inland forests and subalpine regions as well as coastal wetlands. Its bones have also been found in early Maori middens in coastal Marlborough, and it is likely to have become extinct through over-hunting. New Zealand coot The New Zealand coot ("Fulica prisca") is an extinct bird in the rail family, Rallidae, that was endemic to New Zealand. It was described in 1893 by New Zealand naturalist, ethnologist and museum director Augustus Hamilton, from material he had collected the previous year at