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Status: Population size: Unknown

Caribbean Coot
(Fulica caribaea)

Although there is no evidence that West Indian populations of Caribbean Coot cross-breed with American Coot (Fulica americana), the two are considered by some to be the same species. Caribbean Coot, though once abundant, has greatly declined across the West Indies including on Puerto Rico.

Identification
Overall, slate-gray with slightly lighter underside; darker head and neck. Bill and frontal shield white, with reddish band near tip. Legs and feet yellowish. Sexes alike, though female slightly smaller.

Distribution and Population Trends
Uncommon and patchily-distributed resident of Puerto Rico, Haiti and Dominican Republic (but not Cuba). Rare resident in Jamaica, U.S. and British Virgin Islands and Lesser Antilles. Also occurs in Trinidad, northwestern Venezuela, Aruba, and Curacao. In Puerto Rico, this once-abundant bird has become uncommon. Elsewhere in the Caribbean, its numbers have also declined but numbers are uncertain.

Ecology
Found in freshwater habitats, on lakes, marshes, swamps, and ponds; occurs on rivers, streams, and other habitats with emergent vegetation. Occasionally found in brackish water. Eats aquatic vegetation and small invertebrates. In Puerto Rico, the Caribbean Coot breeds year-round, peaking in spring and autumn. Lays four to eight eggs in a cup-shaped nest built up to 30 cm above water level (some nests described as "floating.") Birds are often seen in groups, sometimes walking on muddy ground. When hunted, they disperse to vegetation.

Threats
In Puerto Rico and elsewhere in the Caribbean, this species has greatly declined due to overhunting, habitat destruction, and introduced predators.

Conservation
The work of the West Indian Whistling-Duck Working Group of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds should benefit Caribbean Coot as well. They have been working since 1996 to develop a conservation project focused on the whistling-duck and its wetland habitat. The group received funding from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service International Program for a public service program including the publication of an education resource book entitled Wondrous West Indian Wetlands.

What Can You Do?
Volunteers are crucial to the success of the West Indian Whistling-Duck Working Group. Audubon's Christmas Bird Count (CBC) is one of the longest-running citizen-science monitoring programs in the world and has helped to follow changes in the numbers and distribution of many bird species. To learn more about the CBC and how you can participate in CBCs in the Caribbean, visit http://www.audubon.org/bird/cbc

Audubon is the U.S. representative of the global BirdLife International alliance. Our BirdLife partners in the Caribbean are developing Important Bird Areas programs to identify and conserve critical habitats that support birds and other wildlife. For more information about BirdLife IBA efforts throughout the Americas, visit http://www.birdlife.net/sites/index.cfm

Become a member of the Society for the Conservation and Study of Caribbean Birds. See http://www.nmnh.si.edu/BIRDNET/SCO/.

Support protection or acquisition of habitat on Puerto Rico by conservation agencies and organizations.

References
BirdLife International . 2000. Threatened birds of the world. Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, Barcelona and Cambridge, UK.

Raffaele, H., J. Wiley, O. Garrido, A. Keith, and J. Raffaele. 1998. A Guide to the Birds of the West Indies. Princeton University Press, Princeton, NJ.

Sorenson, L.G., and P. Bradley. 2000. Update on the "West Indian Whistling-Duck (WIWD) and Wetlands Conservation Project"- Report from the WIWD Working Group. El Pitirre 13(2):57-63.

Taylor, B. 1998. Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.