American coot arcing formations, and sequential take-off dynamics. The American coot can dive for food but can also forage and scavenge on land. Their principal source of food is aquatic vegetation, especially algae. Yet they are omnivorous, also eating arthropods, fish, and other aquatic animals. During breeding season, coots are more likely to eat aquatic insects and mollusks—which constitute the majority of a chick's diet. The coot mating season occurs during May and June. Coot mate pairings are monogamous throughout their life, given they have a suitable territory. A typical reproductive cycle involves multiple stages: pairing, nesting, copulation, egg deposition, incubation, and
American coot A member of the family Rallidae, it has three subspecies: "Fulica americana alai", "F. a. caribaea", and "F. a. ardesiaca". These subspecies, however, are sometimes considered to be their own separate species. Including these 'subspecies', there are 11 members of the genus Fulica distributed across the globe. Coot fossils from the Middle Pleistocene of California have been described as "Fulica hesterna" but cannot be separated from the present-day American coot. However, the Pleistocene coot "Fulica shufeldti" (formerly "F. minor"), famously known as part of the Fossil Lake fauna, quite possibly was a paleosubspecies of the American coot (as "Fulica americana