Giant Coot Fulica gigantea

Giant Coot Fulica gigantea

Chilean name: Tagua gigante

Giant Coot, Lauca NP, Chile, February 2007 - click for larger image

Lauca National Park, Chile
February 2007

The Giant Coot is distributed from south Peru through south-west Bolivia to northern Chile and north-west Argentina. It is found on lakes and ponds on the altiplano mainly between 3,600m and 5,000m.

It is a very large coot with a distinctive head. The narrow frontal shield creates the look of two knobs on either side of the crown. The lower mandible is mainly red while the top of the bill is white with yellow edges and a red tip. It is the only coot with red legs.

It constructs an enormous nest on a mound of aquatic vegetation and a pair will probably hold the same platform for life.

Back to Index

If you do not see a menu on the left, you may have arrived at this page from another site. Please click Home to get to my main page.