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Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step to facilitate walking on dry land. [2] Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies in North America. Groups of coots are called covers [3] or rafts. [2] The oldest known coot lived to be 22 ...
Most birds have four toes, typically three facing forward and one pointing backward. [7] [10] [8] In a typical perching bird, they consist respectively of 3, 4, 5 and 2 phalanges. [2] Some birds, like the sanderling, have only the forward-facing toes; these are called tridactyl feet while the ostrich have only two toes (didactyl feet).
This has created conservation concerns for relatives of the mallard, such as the Hawaiian duck, [123] [124] the New Zealand grey duck (A. s. superciliosa) subspecies of the Pacific black duck, [123] [125] the American black duck, [126] [127] the mottled duck, [128] Meller's duck, [129] the yellow-billed duck, [122] and the Mexican duck, [123 ...
But the birds were too far away for me to positively identify them, and in just a few seconds, we'd left the water behind. The brief wildlife ... Why a duck's feet don't freeze in winter and other ...
The black-bellied whistling duck (Dendrocygna autumnalis), formerly called the black-bellied tree duck, is a whistling duck that before 2000 bred mainly in the southernmost United States, Mexico, and tropical Central to south-central South America. It can be found year-round in much of the United States.
Loons are excellent swimmers, using their feet to propel themselves above and under water. However, since their feet are located far back on the body, loons have difficulty walking on land, though they can effectively run short distances to reach water when frightened. Thus, loons avoid coming to land, except for mating and nesting. [4]
The word duck comes from Old English dūce 'diver', a derivative of the verb *dūcan 'to duck, bend down low as if to get under something, or dive', because of the way many species in the dabbling duck group feed by upending; compare with Dutch duiken and German tauchen 'to dive'.
The American black duck (Anas rubripes) is a large dabbling duck in the family Anatidae.It was described by William Brewster in 1902. It is the heaviest species in the genus Anas, weighing 720–1,640 g (1.59–3.62 lb) on average and measuring 54–59 cm (21–23 in) in length with an 88–95 cm (35–37 in) wingspan.