Reflections and ripples

The coot on the lake
The Eurasian coot (Fulica atra), also known as the common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand and parts of North Africa.[3] It has a slaty-black body, a glossy black head and a white bill with a white frontal shield. The sexes are similar. Similar looking coot species are found throughout the world, with the largest variety of coot species living in South America. The Eurasian coot was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturaeunder its current binomial name Fulica atra.[4] Linnaeus specified the locality as Europe but this is now restricted to Sweden.[5] The binomial name is from Latin: Fulica means "coot", and atra means "black".[6]
Four subspecies are recognised:[7]
F. a. atra Linnaeus, 1758 – Europe and north Africa to Japan, India, southeast Asia, Philippines and Borneo
F. a. lugubris Müller, S, 1847 – Java, Bali, northwest New Guinea
F. a. novaeguineae Rand, 1940 – central New Guinea
F. a. australis Gould, 1845 – Australia and New Zealand

An extinct subspecies F. atra pontica has been described from the Chalcolithic (around 4800–4400 BP) from the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast.[8]
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).[9] 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).[10] As a swimming species, the coot has partial webbing on its long strong toes. The sexes are similar in appearance.[11]
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.
The Eurasian coot is a noisy bird with a wide repertoire of crackling, explosive, or trumpeting calls, often given at night.