American coot old. The American coot is a migratory bird that occupies most of North America. It lives in the Pacific and southwestern United States and Mexico year-round and occupies more northeastern regions during the summer breeding season. In the winter they can be found as far south as Panama. Coots generally build floating nests and lay 8–12 eggs per clutch. Females and males have similar appearances, but they can be distinguished during aggressive displays by the larger ruff (head plumage) on the male. American coots eat primarily algae and other aquatic plants but also animals (both vertebrates and invertebrates) when available.
Red-knobbed coot a variety of small live prey including the eggs of other water birds. Its main food in most waters however comprises various waterweeds such as species of Potamogeton for which it commonly dives. This is a noisy bird during mating, but its vocalisations are quite different from the Eurasian coot. It gives a fast "kerrre" like the little crake, a harsh "ka-haa" and a grunting hoot "oot oot" that suggests that the name "coot" might be onomatopoeia, but inspection of the etymology of "coot" fairly decisively negates any such suggestion. Red-knobbed coot The red-knobbed coot or crested coot, ("Fulica cristata"),