Coots are easily recognized by their plump dark body, small head, thin legs, white wedge-shaped bill, and red eyes. They are famous for having unique feet that look like feathers. Their closest relatives are the Sandhill Crane and Rails.

American coots eat primarily aquatic plants. However, they do not live an exclusively vegetarian life. You may also see them eating insects (beetles, dragonflies, and others).

Coots generally build floating nests and lay 8–12 eggs per clutch. They display “conspecific brood parasitism”, whereby females lay eggs in the nests of other coots’ nests.

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