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Page updated:16-January-2013

	Order: Gruiformes	Family: Rallidae
	BTO Codes: CO, COOT.	EURING No: 4290
	Number in Britain: 25 thousand pairs (Summer)
	Conservation Status:
	UK: GREEN
	European: Not a species of concern
	Global: (Details)
Links to: Images Videos Sound

Status in UK: (A) Resident Breeder, Winter Visitor
Subspecies: atra recorded in Britain (of 3 subsp. in the world)
.
Length: 37 cm	Wingspan: 75 cm	Weight: M/F: 800 g

Scientific name from:	L.: fulica=the coot and L.: ater=black (esp. matte black)
World Distribution:	Eurasia, Australia

Habitat:	Lakes, marsh, rivers, seacoast
Diet:	Omnivorous, but mostly aquatic plants
TitBit:	Coots are aggressive birds, both to other species and their own kind; they have even been known to kill their own young, usually the youngest of the brood if they have too many to feed successfully.

British Population Size:

Summer: 22 to 28 thousand pairs in 2000 Baker, H. et al. (2006) British Birds 99:25-44

Winter: 180 thousand individuals in 2004-09 Musgrove, A. et al. (2011) British Birds 104:364-397

First Record: Recorded in Medieval times Bircham, P. 2007. A history of ornithology, Collins. [805 BIR]

[Fossil evidence from Ipswichian (last) interglacial, c. 125,000 yr ago]

Conservation Status: GREEN Eaton, M.A. et al. 2009. British Birds 102:296-341

Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 GREEN Gregory, R.D. et al. 2002. British Birds 95:410-448

1996-2001 GREEN Gibbons, D.W. et al. 1996. RSPB Conservation Review 10:7-18

Races of Concern: atra GREEN

Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):

Most frequent in: Lakes

Also common in: Ponds

And found in: Along Rivers

Relative Frequency in Each Habitat:

Migration routes: Map of foreign ringing recoveries and summary map from Time to Fly (in pop-up windows)

European Population Size:

Summer: 850 thousand to 1.5 million pairs Bufield, I. & Van Bommel, F. (2004) Birds in Europe. Birdlife International, Cambridge.

Population Assesment from Birds in Europe

Distribution in Europe mapped by the EBCC Atlas

Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WCA(II,III), WBD(II*,III*), Bonn(II*), AEWA

Survey Results:	Results from BirdTrack

Breeding and Survival
Egg Size: 53 x 36 mm	Egg Weight: 36.5 g (of which 9 % is shell)

Number of Nest Records: 643
Clutch Size: 5 - 7 eggs
Incubation: 21- 24 days		by the: Male + Female
Fledging: 55 - 60days		as: Precocial, downy

First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1(2)
See trends in Breeding Productivity

Number Ringed: Annual Totals
Adult Survival: 0.701 ± 0.026
Juvenile Survival: 0.380 (in First-Year)

Age at First Breeding: 2 years	Typical Lifespan: 5 years
Maximum Recorded Age: 15 years 3 months 13 days (set in 1978)
Read a summary of Ringing Recoveries

Biometrics
Ring Size: G
Wing Length	Sexually dimorphic (male much larger than female)
	Male:	223.2 ± 7.0 Range 180.0 - 260.0 mm, (N = 385)
	Female:	207.1 ± 5.8 Range 179.0 - 246.0 mm, (N = 242)

Weight	Sexually dimorphic (male much larger than female)
	Male:	930.9 ± 164.1 Range 460.0 - 1340 g , (N =178)
	Female:	749.2 ± 135.1 Range 463.0 - 1200 g , (N =77)
	Seasonal:	Summer 785.0 ± 131.5 (N = 88) Autumn 893.5 ± 166.7 (N = 309) Winter 846.5 ± 171.8 (N = 1148)
	Source:	British Trust for Ornithology (2005) Ringing Scheme data

For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
Taylor, B. & van Perlo, B. 1998 Rails Pica Press, Sussex [598.554 TAY]

See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
Read State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead

BirdFacts