Blässhuhn

Bestimmung

The Eurasian coot is 36–38 cm (14–15 in) in length with a wing-span of 70–80 cm (28–31 in); males weigh around 890 g (31 oz) and females 750 g (26 oz). It is largely black except for the white bill and frontal shield (which gives rise to the phrase "as bald as a coot", in use as early as 1430). As a swimming species, the coot has partial webbing on its long strong toes. The sexes are similar in appearance.<p>The juvenile is paler than the adult, has a whitish breast, and lacks the facial shield; the adult black plumage develops when about 3–4 months old, but the white shield is only fully developed at about one year old.<p>The Eurasian coot is a noisy bird with a wide repertoire of crackling, explosive, or trumpeting calls, often given at night.

Taxonomie

The Eurasian coot was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under its current binomial name Fulica atra. Linnaeus specified the locality as Europe but this is now restricted to Sweden. The binomial name is from Latin: Fulica means "coot", and atra means "black".<p>Four subspecies are recognised:<p>An extinct subspecies F. atra pontica has been described from the Chalcolithic (around 4800–4400 BP) from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast.

Wissenschaftlicher Name

Fulica atra

Autorität

Linnaeus, 1758

Ordnung

Gruiformes

Familie

Rallidae

Gattung

Fulica

Verbreitung und Lebensraum

The coot breeds across much of the Old World on freshwater lakes and ponds, and like its relative the common moorhen, has adapted well to living in urban environments, often being found in parks and gardens with access to water. It occurs and breeds in Europe, Asia, Australia, and Africa. The species has recently expanded its range into New Zealand. It is resident in the milder parts of its range, but migrates further south and west from much of Asia in winter as the waters freeze. It is known to occur as a vagrant in North America.

Brutgebiet

PAL, OR, AU : widespread

Überwinterungsgebiet

n Africa to se Asia, Philippines

Zugverhalten

Vollzieher

Verhalten

Zugverhalten: Vollzieher.

Schutzstatus

Bestandstrend: zunehmend.

Bestandstrend

zunehmend