It’s the right time of year for the Australian coots on the Strathnaver lakes, Waimarie and Te Puna a te Ora (Tranquil Waters and The Wellspring of Good Health) to have babies. I spotted these today.
Length: 35 - 39 cm; Weight: 520 - 570 g
Similar species: New Zealand scaup | Pāpango
An entirely slate-grey medium-sized rail with a white bill and frontal shield, red eyes and very large grey feet with large lobed toes. Juvenile and immature birds have duller and paler colouring with pale grey on the chin and throat, brown eyes and smaller frontal shields.
The Australian coot is a smart, dark-grey, duck-like waterbird, instantly recognisable from its bright white bill and frontal shield. … The Australian coot is a recent arrival in New Zealand, first recorded breeding here in 1958. Their colonisation partially fills the niche left vacant by the extinction of the New Zealand coot, which was widespread before the arrival of Maori.
