Comb coot

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Comb coot
Comb coots (Fulica cristata) in the S'Albufera Nature Park (Mallorca)

Comb coots ( Fulica cristata ) in the S'Albufera Nature Park (Mallorca)

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Crane birds (Gruiformes)
Family : Rallen (Rallidae)
Genre : Coots ( Fulica )
Type : Comb coot
Scientific name
Fulica cristata
Gmelin , 1789

The red-knobbed coot ( Fulica cristata ) is a bird art from the order of Gruiformes and the family of rallidae .

features

The comb coot looks very similar to the closely related coot , but it differs from it by two red outgrowths on the forehead and the rounded (not pointed) feather part (or rein stripe) between the beak and the blaze. The body is rounded, the neck is short and thin, and the head is small and angular. The long, strong legs have three very large toes with claws and flaps. The wings are wide, the tail is very short and wedge-shaped. When swimming, the front body sinks relatively deep into the water. The beak is short and pointed at the end. The comb coot has a blaze on its forehead and its beak ridge is straight. Above the blaze there are two large, red bumps that swell up in the splendid dress and are therefore easier to see than in the plain dress . The front part of the body with the head and neck is shiny black, the rear part is a little lighter in color. The arm wings do not have a white rear edge. The bird's legs are yellow-gray to yellow-green in color, the toes are usually blue-gray. It has red eyes and its beak is white with a blue-gray tint. When young, the comb coot is dark brown with a light throat and light front neck. The legs are orange-red, the beak is yellow-orange, the eyes are black and the blaze is hardly or not at all pronounced. With age, the colored plumage slate gray and light gray throat. The beak then only shimmers reddish.

Way of life

The comb coot is omnivorous , it picks seeds and parts of plants from the surface of the water or dives for mussels , snails and other invertebrates. In spring, males often fight turf. The nest is usually a swimming nest, rarely it floats freely or is also on the ground. It is a neat, conical heap composed of aquatic plants with a deep hollow. The female lays 5 to 10 eggs that are incubated by both sexes. The young leave the nest a few days after hatching but are fed by their parents for another 4 to 5 weeks. The comb coot calls two-syllable and nasal wäa or dull kwou .

Habitat and Distribution

The comb coot lives in heavily overgrown, stagnant waters. It comes in Africa south of the Sahara and on Madagascar before, where it takes on the role of the coot. In North Africa , South Portugal and South Spain it lives in the same habitat as this one.

photos

literature

  • Barthel & Dougalis: What is flying there? Franckh-Kosmos Verlags GmbH & Co. KG, Stuttgart 2006
  • Gunter Steinbach: water birds . Mosaik Verlag, 2002, ISBN 3576114777

Web links

Commons : Fulica cristata  - collection of images, videos and audio files