American Coot Fulica americana Gmelin        Field Guide IDs: NG-148; G-l06; PE-64; PW-pl 24; AE-pl 134; AW-pl 111; AM(I)-308 Nest Location Nest Type Eggs & Mating System Dev. & Parental Care Primary & 2ndary Diet.. Foraging Strategy MF I: 21-25 DAYS PRECOCIAL 4 (To 2 feet) MF 8-12 (2-12) MONOG? F: 49-56(?) DAYS MF GROUND GLEAN FOLIAGE GLEAN BREEDING: Freshwater lakes, ponds, marshes, rivers. Usu 1 brood, occ 2. DISPLAYS: Male paddles after female, flapping wings; female dives if too closely pressed. Male paddles with head and neck on water, wingtips raised above, spreads and elevates tail to display white patches. Female assumes similar pose. NEST: Usu over water (1 '- 4' deep), in veg tall enough to conceal; large floating cup of dead stems on platform anchored to veg, lined with finer materials. Other platforms for resting/roosting, esp brood platform built mostly by male. EGGS: Pinkish-buff, marked with blackish-brown. 1.9" (49 mm). DIET: Mostly aquatic veg, algae; also fish, tadpoles, crustaceans, snails, worms, aquatic and terrestrial insects, eggs of other marsh-nesting birds. Pirates plants from ducks. CONSERVATION: Winters s to s C.A. Golf course and gun club pest. NOTES: Clutch overlap occurs during seasons when breeding starts early enough for 2 broods. Younger birds tend to nest later than older birds; later clutches smaller. Brood parasitism: clutches >12 likely from >1 female. Young hatch asynchronously. STANFORD. NOTES: Fairly common winter visitor at Lagunita. Birds lingering into spring may occasionally nest here. ESSAYS: American Coots; Piracy; Feet; Vocal Development; Variation in Clutch Sizes; Commensal Feeding. REFERENCES: Gorenzel et al., 1982; Hill, 1986; Ryan and Dinsmore, 1979, 1980.