COOTS : Fulica atra
These are black with a white beak and feet. Its feet have distinctive lobed flaps of skin on the toes which act in the same way as webbed feet when swimming. They eat vegetation, seeds, snails and insect larvae. Its nest is built of twigs rising above the water level. If you are lucky, you may see a parent moorhen leading some small chicks tentatively across some marshy water, each calling to ensure contact with the others.
A coot. (Photo taken at Linlithgow Loch).
RSPB : https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/coot/
