If I'm lucky with this clover my feet might fit!

Coot chick eating clover on the river bank. Just beginning to lose its baby down it is eating clover (as you can see from the bit in its beak! Wasn't worried about me being there, which is good if you are taking photos but not so good as a survival tactic!

I love the feet which look completely out of proportion to the bird. they aren't webbed like ducks but have individual webbing on each toe. I'm told by an ornithologist I know these are called semi palmated feet!

New Zealand had two endemic coots, now extinct. In the later 20th century the Australian coot (Fulica atra australis) has become established. It was first recorded breeding in 1958 on Lake Hayes, in Otago. By 2005, around 2,000 were scattered on lakes throughout both main islands.

The bird is one of four subspecies of the Eurasian coot (Fulica atra), which is native to Europe, northern Africa, Asia and greater Australasia. The Australian coot breeds in Australia and New Zealand. It is a protected self-introduced native.