F. cristata F. atra F. alai F. americana F. caribaea F. leucoptera F. ardesiaca F. armillata F. rufifrons F. gigantea F. cornuta
The coots are medium-sized water birds which are members of the railfamily. They constitute the genus Fulica.
These rails are all predominantly black in plumage, and, unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see, swimming in open water rather than skulking in reedbeds.
They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers, although nevertheless capable of covering long distances; the American Coot has reached Great Britain and Ireland on rare occasions. Those that migrate do so at night.
Coots can walk and run vigorously on strong legs, and have long toes that are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces.
These birds are omnivorous, taking plant material, small animals and eggs. They are aggressively territorial during the breeding season, but are otherwise often found in sizeable flocks on the shallow vegetated lakes they prefer.
fulica has been considered the most important snail pest in the tropics and subtropics and perhaps the world.
fulica is also a vector of Angiostrongylus cantonensis (Nematoda; Protostrongylidae), the roundworm responsible for eosinophilic meningo-encephalitis in humans and the spread of the disease has been correlated with the spread of A.
fulica are extremely dangerous from the perspective of the conservation of native snail species.
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