American Coot

Is that a duck or a chicken? Actually, it’s an American Coot!

The most aquatic member of the rail family of birds, American Coots have dark gray to black plumage with a bright-white bill and forehead. At close range, their odd chicken-like feet and legs appear almost reptilian. The coot’s diet includes foraging inland and underwater by eating aquatic plants and insects. Rafts of thousands of coots stage for migration in spring and fall on lakes throughout Oregon.

Learn more about the American coot here: https://www.audubon.org/…/better-know-bird-american…