Eurasian coot
Fulica atra
Alexander Abuladze · Nuri Lake, Batumi Georgia field photo
Key facts in one look
- Length
- 36–39 cm
- Diet
- Mainly aquatic plants
- Status in Georgia
- Year-round; game species
- Habitat
- Lakes, reservoirs, slow rivers
- Family
- Rallidae
- Conservation
- Global LC (2019)
The Eurasian coot is an all-black waterbird with a white bill and a bare white shield on its forehead. In Georgia it is seen in every month of the year, summer included. It is seen most often on the lakes of Kvemo Kartli and Tbilisi, and also occurs in Abkhazia, Samtskhe-Javakheti and Adjara. In the autumn 2022 waterbird count on six Javakheti lakes, it was among the most numerous species. It looks like a duck but belongs to a different family, the Rallidae: its feet have no webs, and each toe carries broad flaps of skin. It is harmless to people, and in Georgia it is a game species. If you see a black bird with a white forehead on a lake, it is most likely a coot.
Identification
Eurasian coot: how to identify it
You can tell it from far off: a rounded, black or charcoal bird with a white bill and a white shield on its forehead. Males and females look alike. It floats on open water and dives often. It is most often confused with its smaller relative, Gallinula chloropus, which has a red shield.
It is 36–39 cm long, with a wing of about 20–23 cm. Adults weighed in Britain ranged from 630 to 1210 g, and males were on average heavier than females. The white forehead shield is bare, vascularised keratinous tissue. Among coots it works as a status signal.
Its legs are silvery grey and the feet have no webs. Each toe has broad flaps of skin along its sides that open on the paddle stroke and fold as the foot moves forward. These big feet are easiest to see when the bird walks out onto the shore. The chick looks entirely different: black down and a red-orange head.
Gallinula chloropus is smaller than the coot, with a red shield and bill and a yellow bill tip. It has a white line along its side, white under the tail and yellow legs. It hides in bankside vegetation, while the coot prefers open water. So a white forehead on open water points to the coot, a red forehead in the reeds to its relative.
Colour
The whole body is black or charcoal, with no pattern at all. The only bright part is the white bill and forehead shield, which stands out against the dark plumage from far away. The legs are silvery grey. Chicks are covered in black down, with a red-orange head.
Swatches are illustrative. Do not identify a species by colour alone.
It chooses open, still or slow water: lakes, reservoirs and slow-flowing rivers. Unlike other members of its family, it rarely hides in reeds and spends most of the day on open water. In winter it also comes out onto short grass by the water to graze. Coots that breed in colder regions move south when the lakes freeze. In Georgia it occurs in Kvemo Kartli, Tbilisi, Abkhazia, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Adjara, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kakheti and Shida Kartli. It is seen most often on Kumisi and Jandari lakes, and in Tbilisi on Lisi Lake and the Tbilisi Sea. On the Black Sea coast it is seen on Lake Inkit at Pitsunda, near Gagra and in Batumi, and in Samtskhe-Javakheti on Madatapa and Tabatskuri lakes. It also occurs in summer, for example at Kumisi, on Madatapa and in Ninotsminda Municipality. In Georgia, the large autumn gatherings are on the lakes of the Javakheti plateau. In 2022, from the second half of August to the first week of December, waterbirds were counted on six lakes: Madatapa, Bughdasheni, Khanchali, Saghamo, Paravani and Kartsakhi (Samtskhe-Javakheti). That year at least 39,000 waterbirds gathered on these lakes, and the coot was among the most numerous species. The mallard lives on the same lakes.
The Eurasian coot map combines public iNaturalist observations. Regions are taken from the records-by-region table, and the status column separates regions with enough records from regions with too few records. Record counts reflect observation effort rather than population density.
Data: Reptiles.ge + iNaturalist · Methodology
- Field observation
- Several records in one spot
- Photo record
- Region with records
It feeds mainly on plants, but does not turn down animal food. It eats crustaceans, fish and aquatic insects, and sometimes the eggs and chicks of other waterbirds. Unlike dabbling ducks, it often dives: it tears plants from the bottom and brings them to the surface to eat. It also upends, scrapes algae off stones and grazes short grass near the shore.
In the breeding season the coot defends its territory fiercely. It chases rivals by beating its wings on the water and strikes out with its big, lobed feet. In winter it does the opposite, gathering in dense flocks on lakes and reservoirs, sometimes in hundreds or thousands. To take off it has to run across the water, splashing and flapping hard. Once in the air, it flies well. Its calls are loud and varied: different calls serve for contact, alarm and threat. The nest is a floating, cup-shaped raft of reeds and dead plants, and it is often easy to see. The female lays about 5–10 eggs. Both parents incubate for 21–26 days, and the chicks hatch at different times. It usually raises one brood a season, sometimes two. The chicks leave the nest soon after hatching and fly at 6–8 weeks. When food is short, the parents split the brood in two and each looks after its own half.
In the 2019 global assessment the Eurasian coot is Least Concern (LC). It is widespread across the Old World, from Europe to China and Australia. In Georgia it is a game species, with set hunting dates and daily bag limits. In autumn the Javakheti lakes give thousands of waterbirds food and a place to rest. Different species prefer different lakes, so all six lakes matter for migrating waterbirds. The coot, which feeds on the plants of the lake bottom, is among the most numerous birds on them.
Donsky · emanon · Alexander Abuladze · Giorgi Natsvlishvili
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Yes, in every month of the year, summer included. It is especially numerous in autumn: in 2022 it was among the most numerous waterbirds on six Javakheti lakes. In winter it also occurs on the Black Sea coast. In Georgia it is a game species. If you see a flock of black, white-fronted birds on an open lake, they are most likely coots.
Most easily on the lakes of Kvemo Kartli and Tbilisi: Kumisi, Jandari Lake, Lisi Lake and the Tbilisi Sea. It also occurs in Abkhazia, Adjara, Samtskhe-Javakheti, Mtskheta-Mtianeti, Kakheti and Shida Kartli. It prefers open, calm water and rarely hides in reeds. So you can easily spot it with binoculars from the shore.
No. It looks like a duck and floats like one, but it belongs to a different family, the Rallidae. Its feet have no webs: each toe carries broad flaps of skin along its sides. Its bill is pointed and white rather than flat, with a white shield on the forehead. It needs a run across the water to take off and often dives for food.
It is 36–39 cm long, smaller than a mid-sized duck. Adults weighed in Britain ranged from 630 to 1210 g. Males were on average heavier than females, although the sexes look alike. Its red-fronted relative, Gallinula chloropus, is smaller.
Mainly aquatic plants. It dives to the bottom for food and brings the plants up to the surface. It also eats crustaceans, fish and aquatic insects, and sometimes the eggs and chicks of other birds. In winter it also grazes short grass by the water.
Yes, it is a game species in Georgia, but only within set dates. In the 2026 season, across most of the country hunting is allowed from 1 November to 1 March, up to 6 birds a day. In the Akhalkalaki, Ninotsminda, Tsalka and Dmanisi municipalities the season runs from 10 September to 31 December, up to 5 birds a day. Check the current rules before every season.
It is not dangerous to people. In the 2019 global assessment it is Least Concern (LC). In Georgia a low-pathogenic avian influenza virus was isolated from one coot. So do not touch sick or dead waterbirds with bare hands, and watch them from a distance.
References
What this profile is based on
Species profiles are compiled from peer-reviewed literature and established biodiversity databases, and are reviewed as new taxonomic and conservation data become available.
Prepared by the Reptiles.ge editorial team from the sources listed here.
