African Wildlife and Environment Issue 70

BIRDING

BIRDING

RED-KNOBBED COOT

A black, duck-like bird with a white bill and white unfeathered forehead. They are a common to abundant resident on dams, pans and lakes, virtually any stretch of fresh water except fast-flowing rivers, in southern Africa.

Willie Froneman

T he Red-knobbed Coot, one of nine species worldwide, is the coot of Africa. It is an abundant water bird in southern Africa. The Red-knobbed Coot population on some water bodies can number thousands of these gregarious, inoffensive weed eating birds. Both sexes are alike in plumage colouration; however, the female is slightly smaller in size. In the adult birds, the head, neck and tail feathers are black, and the remainder of the upper parts are a dark slaty grey to black. The bird’s underparts are mostly dark grey, however the lower flanks to under tail coverts are black. The flight feathers of the Red-knobbed Coot are dark grey-brown, with the outer webs slaty. The primary feathers have black towards the tips, and in some birds, there are a few white-tipped feathers at the carpal joint. The bill and frontal shield are white, occasionally with a bluish tinge. This horny frontal shield extends back beyond the bill. The two red knobs on top of the shield, on the forehead, become larger andmore noticeable when breeding, otherwise they are inconspicuous, and are only visible at close range. The Red-knobbed Coot has red legs and toes, which are notable for having the lateral fringes of the toes expanded into well-developed lobes, as an adaptation for swimming and diving. The immature birds are ashy brown to greyish on the sides of the head and neck. The flanks of the immature Red-knobbed Coot are dark olive-brown to mottled off-white. The chin and throat are whitish, with the remainder of the underparts pale ash grey, palest at centre of the bird's belly. The eyes are dull grey to dark brown, with the frontal shield smaller than that of adults. The legs of the juvenile are a dark grey. The Red-knobbed Coot’s call is a harsh, metallic like claak . They also give a wide variety of calls, the significance and function of many of these calls are largely unknown. Their common contact calls include a sharp, shrill kik or krik , a low reedy kek or a trilled krrt , a double clukuk and may also include a deep kup

Photographs: Albert Froneman

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