Bird coot: photo, description, habitat

Our article will tell you about unusual birds - coots. Today, these creatures have been sufficiently studied by ornithologists, but many inhabitants interested in wildlife do not know much about them. Meanwhile, the study of the habits of bald birds can be of interest to hunters. And naturalists who love to watch beautiful living things, for sure, like a nimble bird with an unusual "hairdo".

Classification

These birds belong to the family of cowherd boys. Sultanki, reeds and corncobs are their closest relatives. The bald coots not only resemble externally, they also have similar behavior in their natural habitat. In addition, representatives of these genera, living in the same territory, sometimes create pairs in which viable offspring can even be born. The main difference is that the coots are water way of life. Other genera belonging to the family spend most of the time on land rather than in water.

Many people ask themselves about which birds the coot belongs to - duck or chicken? From a distance, you can really take it for a duck. Representatives of many species have average sizes, the same as those of ducks, and the silhouettes of the birds floating on the water are very similar. They really can be confused. However, it is worth looking at a photo of a bald-headed bird, taken from a short distance, it becomes clear that its beak is not at all like a duck.

In the people of these birds are often called bald and water chicken. A. Brehm mentions the bloody chickens, referring to the coots. In the old days, the researchers attributed these birds to chicken, but further study showed that the differences are too significant. It was found that chickens are not relatives of these birds. But there are common roots with cranes.

Types of birds bald

The description of these creatures should be supplemented with a list of species included in the family. These include the following:

• Crested coot;
• Common coot;
• Hawaiian;
• Andean;
• American;
• The West Indies;
• Yellow-beaked;
• White-winged;
• Red-white;
• Gigantic;
• Horned bald patch.

Scientists know another species - the Mascara coat. This bird inhabited the islands of Reunion and Mauritius. But the uncontrolled hunting and draining of the swamps that these birds inhabited, did their black work. The view completely disappeared from the face of the Earth. The latest information about the Mascarene coot comes from the beginning of the 18th century.

Appearance of bald birds

Representatives of different species, including the disappeared, are similar to each other. The largest is the giant coot, it is so massive that it can not fly.

What did the coot fly get its name for? Photos and descriptions give an answer to this question. On the head of the family there is a plaque devoid of feathers. Some species also have growths. For example, they have the form of small horns in the horned one. By color this speck can be white, beige, light gray. At red-necked it, as it is easy to guess, red.

These birds weigh about a kilogram. And their average size is 40-45 cm.

Pay attention to the beaks of these birds. They are thin and sharp, designed to grab food, and not filter out water, like a duck. Eyes - small and sharp.

Lysukhs have relatively small wings, but representatives of most species fly perfectly. Judging by the habitation on two neighboring islands, there were also good extinct mascarine coots. Modern coots are forced to make frequent short strokes with their wings, but this allows them to spend a long time in flight and overcome considerable distances. These birds fly up without running ahead of time, and when they land, they practically do not lose speed.

Giant coots can fly in their youth, and even then it is not far and short. With age, the skill is lost due to complexion.

The paws deserve special mention. In coots they are large. Partitions like other waterfowl, such as ducks and swans, do not. But on the fingers there are skin folds that open in the water, increasing resistance. On land, these folds do not interfere with walking, like membranes, so that the birds move quickly and quickly.

Habitat of a bird-coots

A real haven for this kind was South America. Seven out of eleven species live on this continent. Their habitat includes Chile, Paraguay, Ecuador, Argentina, Peru. The West Indian variety of coots lives in Venezuela and the Caribbean.

Outside the center of species diversity, you can meet the American coot. It mostly inhabits North America. Hawaiian settles only on this archipelago (is endemic). In Africa and some regions of Spain, coiled coots live.

The distribution area of ordinary coots is unprecedentedly wide: it covers practically the whole of Eurasia. These birds can be found from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean; From Scandinavia, the Kola and Karelian peninsulas to Bangladesh and India. Representatives of this species are found in northern Africa, New Zealand and Australia, in Java, Papua New Guinea, the Canary Islands.

All southern species of coots are sedentary, and populations in the temperate zone migrate. Asian birds are moving to Pakistan and South-East Asia. People who inhabit Europe fly off for the winter on the southern coast of the mainland to the Mediterranean, to the north of Africa.

Crimean secrets of the coot

Until recently, among the ornithologists there were disputes about the wintering of these birds in the Crimea. Photo of the birds of the coots, made in the coastal waters of the peninsula, are few, but still there. In 1983 a monograph was published by the famous Crimean researcher Yu. V. Kostin, in which he mentions "partly wintering birds". In winter, the waters of the southern coast of the Crimea are not warm enough for the coots and they have to look for more favorable places.

The seafarers report another interesting fact. They met huge armadas of coots, heading toward the Danube Delta to swim. It's amazing that excellent flyers overcome the path of swimming, do not they? Answering this question, the scientists mention the corncrake, which, having fattened for the autumn and gaining considerable weight, goes on hibernation on foot. Given the relationship that exists between these birds, it can be assumed that for bald people this behavior should not be considered nonsense. In addition, in the water, coots are easier to hide in case of danger. Diving, they can grab their beaks for underwater plants and stay in shelter for a long time. Perhaps in a long journey this helps the birds avoid unpleasant encounters with natural enemies.

It should be noted that this behavior is not typical for all varieties of coots. Not all birds of the same species prefer to move to wintering places by swimming.

Paradoxes of navigation

The longer scientists study these birds, the more amazing facts are revealed to them. It was found that coots migrate along absolutely straight trajectories. Most migratory birds choose routes that are curved to accommodate natural obstacles and rest areas. But coots are used to acting differently.

Owing to such straightforwardness, the coots sometimes literally mislay. They can stop at ponds where they have never been seen. Ornithologists believe that this behavior of bald birds is due to their very mediocre navigation abilities. However, it was this fact that allowed them to so widely settle around the planet, taking even remote ocean archipelagos. Falling out of the way, flocks of coots gradually moved to a settled life, settling on isolated islands definitively. Presumably, some species formed this way.

Struggle for the land

The habitats of all species of coot are the same. These birds inhabit the banks of rivers, lakes, estuaries with steep, reedy shores. During the migrations and wintering periods of these birds, you can meet directly on the shores of the seas and oceans, where they extract fodder in vast water areas. However, they do not make nests in open places.

Bugs sit in pairs. The male and the female keep each other faithful for many years, but their strong couples are sometimes separated.

Like relatives-cranes, coots are serious about their territories. Their couples are engaged not only in each other and offspring, but also constantly fight abroad. The entrance is ordered to the neighbors. It is noteworthy that each of the two partners has a "corner" for which even a spouse is not allowed.

In the spring there is an active struggle for the distribution of land. During this period fights are frequent, in which three or five birds are involved at once. The ways of fighting in these birds are peculiar. They keep in the water almost vertically and keep balance with the help of wings. Birds are fighting with their free paws.

In this case, birds often make loud noises resembling "quacks". But their cries do not look like ducks, they are more abrupt.

Food

The basis of the diet of coots are young shoots of aquatic plants and their seeds. Periodically, they are engaged in catching small fish, crustaceans, mollusks, water insects.

Lysuhi - birds are not timid. They often form mixed flocks, living and hunting together with other waterfowl, for example, with swans. They collect food together, swimming or moving on their paws in shallow water. In the water, birds can overturn and perform lightning throws in the water to a depth of one and a half meters. Lysuhi can also be traded on the shore, simply collecting living creatures from grass, stones and soil.

On such a diet, coots accumulate enough fat to make long flights.

Nest Arrangement and Reproduction

Nesting takes place once a year, after the flight. Marriage games begin with a joint voyage, with future partners tirelessly attacking all who are nearby. The demonstratively aggressive part is replaced by the period of gentle courtship.

Nest coats are arranged on a floating platform of reed stalks. The bottom of the nest is located above the surface of the water and does not come into contact with the soil. Birds lining it with moist stems of plants, which, when dried, form an ideal smooth surface.

Horned coots are the only species that does not swear with neighbors. These birds themselves create the necessary landscape. They throw small stones into the water and settle the nest on the top of the formed hill. One such island can weigh up to one and a half tons. About the same way, giant coots are working. True, they do not create islands, but rafts up to 4 m in diameter. One raft can withstand the weight of an adult.

Care for the offspring

The appearance of the chicks is another interesting fact, which is worth knowing about the birds of the coots. Photos of their kids are impressive. They look like a cross between a fretboard, a rambutan fruit and a dandelion flower. Immediately after birth, their future bald head is still covered in fluff.

In the masonry can be from 4 to 15 eggs. It depends on the yield of the year. If the eggs die, the female is able to make the second and even the third. If the members of the population did not manage to regain their territory and build a nest, they can throw eggs to their fellows.

The female is mainly engaged in incubating, but the male helps the girlfriend. Incubation takes 3 weeks. At first, the chicks are helpless, on the first day they gain strength, but on the second day they are able to stomp their mother. Another 2 weeks parents feed them, putting food directly into the beaks.

On the wing young people become in 2-2,5 months. And maturity comes almost a year - to the next season.

Natural enemies

Ordinary coots are a common sight. They are hunted by eagles, otters, marsh moons, mink. Nests are often destroyed by large birds of prey, wild boars, foxes. This species often becomes an object of hunting. Due to its high fertility, the population is rapidly recovering.

But some species, for example, Hawaiian coots, need protection. They are under protection.

Meat of coots in cooking

Each hunter has his own recipes. But the general principles governing how to cook a bird bald, there.

With a bird it is worth immediately removing the skin along with the feathers. This is convenient to do by cutting the skin around the neck in a circle.

Further from the carcass it is necessary to separate the hips and cut off the fillet part of the breast together with the wings. The ridge along with the meat is not cooked, since the buds and lungs densely sitting on its lower surface have an unpleasant taste. As you can see, the coot is a bird, the preparation of which has its own subtleties.

With one bird, you can get about 400 grams of meat. It is extinguished, fried, boiled, baked in the oven. Fans of fine cuisine prefer to pre-marinate meat in a mixture of water, fruit vinegar and wine. It is desirable to salt the meat of a coot after a ruddy crust is formed.