American coot

Fulica americana

The American coot (Fulica americana) is a bird found in United States and Canada. Ponds, marshes and lakes across North America. It eats seeds and nuts, leaves and other plant parts and insects and other small invertebrates. The IUCN Red List lists it as Least Concern.

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Scientific name	Fulica americana
Region	North America
Found in	United States and Canada

🏡 Where the American coot lives

Ponds, marshes and lakes across North America.

🍽️ What it eats

🌰 Seeds & nuts40%
🌿 Leaves & plants40%
🐛 Insects & bugs20%

A rough guide to its diet over a year. Source: EltonTraits (Wilman et al. 2014).

Conservation status

LCNTVUENCREWEX

Least ConcernThere are plenty of these birds.

💡 Coots look like ducks but have special lobed toes for swimming.

Hear the American coot

Recorded by Sue Riffe (CC BY-NC-SA 4.0), xeno-canto XC739246. Trimmed to a few seconds.

Questions about the American coot

Where does the American coot live?

The American coot lives in United States and Canada. Ponds, marshes and lakes across North America.

What does the American coot eat?

seeds and nuts (about 40%), leaves and other plant parts (about 40%), insects and other small invertebrates (about 20%). These are rough shares of its diet over a year, from the EltonTraits database.

Is the American coot endangered?

There are plenty of these birds. Its IUCN Red List category is Least Concern.

More birds from North America

Sources: IUCN Red List (via Wikidata), EltonTraits 1.0 (Wilman et al. 2014), GBIF sightings for countries, Wikipedia. Last updated 2026-10-19.