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Fulica atra australis
The Australian Coot is a subspecies of the Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra), and is a member of the rail family Rallidae. Coots are recognised by their snowy white bill and forehead shield. The remainder of the bird is dark sooty grey, except for its bright red eye. Immature birds are generally paler than adults with a white wash on the throat. Nestlings are downy, black with fine yellow tips. The head is orange-red and the bill is red with a cream-white tip. There were several nestlings in this group, and I was delighted to spot them. They are born with their big feet, and that's very handy when you're a waterbird.
In Australia, Coots are common in suitably vegetated lagoons and swamps. Birds are less common in the north and in the drier regions of the country. These birds were spotted by the pond at the Mt. Coot-tha Botanical Gardens in Brisbane QLD.
Sorry, but picture quality isn't the best. Poor light and rotten angle, but it was so cool just to watch these little guys for a while.
Spotted on Oct 21, 2014
Submitted on Oct 29, 2014
24 Comments
Thanks folks. Leuba, I posted some extra photos of the coots and other birds on the PN Australia group page.
Your photos are great Neil ! I love the 5th one especially. I've seen a lot of adults but not young ones. Thanks for sharing this. Congratulations -well deserved!!
Beautiful series Neil,congrats on the well deserved SOTD and thanks for sharing
Thanks to all for your comments and congrats. I really appreciate it :-)
Great photo perfect for Project Noah
Great series Neil... Congrats !
Congrats Neil!!!Superb series!!
Congrats, Neil, well done.
Well done on the SOTD ! LOVE picture 5 ..precious babies.
Superbly done Neil. Congrats.
Oh! I just read you got SOTD. Congrats!!!
I like your description. Regarding notes; I personally think the pics are great, especially the 3rd and 5th one.
lovely and congrats
Such a nice series! Congrats Neil :-)
Wow. Thank you so much, Yasser. That has made my day. And cheers everyone for the congrats. I waited almost 18 months to get close enough to the coots to get a semi-decent photo, and this little fellow was very cooperative. Patience has paid off, I think.
Congratulations!
Congratulations on your SOTD Neil! Very well deserved mate. Top pics! Thank you for sharing :)
Congratulations!
Well done Neil. Congrats on a well deserved SOTD
Congrats Neil!
Congratulations, Neil.
Congrats Neil! Love those huge feet, so cute :)
Neil, this coot was just too cute to pass up! The image quality was plenty good to showcase this series as our Spotting of the Day! Congrats and thank you so much for not only your wonderful photographic contributions, but your supportive comments and encouragements as well. It means a lot to our community! Congrats again!
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Thanks, Ernst.