Pity the American Coot: It’s light on beauty in almost every category.
Its name is commonly used to derogate geezers, as in, “You old coot.”
It squawks rather than sings.
Its head is, well, a little less ugly than its feet, which are, frankly, kinda creepy.
Even the Cornell Ornithology Lab, which has a thing about birds, has trouble finding something nice to say.
The waterborne American Coot is one good reminder that not everything that floats is a duck. A close look at a coot — that small head, those scrawny legs — reveals a different kind of bird entirely.
But seen close-up and in the right light, its iridescent feathers are fabulous.
Hokey-pokey move
Yoga pose
A big caboose
Built-in bustle
The only really ugly birds are vultures. Although I would have to say that marabou storks come pretty close.
Jim T
Jim T – Yeah, those storks aren’t lovely to me eye, either. Neither is the Australian ibis, which I suspect is from the same family as the vulture. A nasty, featherless head.
I certainly agree re the vultures and maribou stork. Although the maribou stork when riding the wind is a very picturesque sight (but that’s because you can’t see it up close).
I’d say the same thing for the Australian ibis, not unattractive from a distance…..
Nice study of a coot Isabel. I was taken aback when I first saw a pair of coot legs too ☺
Jim R – Fair enough. From a distance, the ibis is also striking.