American Coot

American coots look like ducks from a distance, but the bill gives them away — white and chicken-like rather than the flat bill of a true duck — and so do the feet, lobed instead of webbed, which serve for both paddling and walking across marsh vegetation. They are common on lakes, ponds, and marshes across much of North America, and outside the breeding season coots gather into large rafts on open water, often outnumbering every other bird on a given wetland. Diet runs to aquatic plants, algae, and small invertebrates, taken by diving or dabbling depending on how deep the water runs.