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Bird

American Coot

Fulica americana

Lives in Alabama all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 11 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
11

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
11
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Alabama 11

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 11

Coastal dunes and beaches

White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola
SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal WetlandGeorge Catlin, White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola (1834-35): high white dunes with scattered clumps of dune plants above the Gulf. Shown: Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, Florida, a neighboring state.White Sand Bluffs, on Santa Rosa Island, Near Pensacola, George Catlin (1796-1872), 1834-1835. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain hammocks

In the Jungle, Florida
SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Hydric HammockWinslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida (1904): cabbage palms, saw palmetto and fallen trunks in a dense, shady hammock, with a wildcat in the branches. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904), a neighboring state.In the Jungle, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1904. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida"
WinterMartin Johnson Heade, On the San Sebastian River (c. 1883-90): a tidal river winding through flat marsh under storm clouds at sunset. Shown: San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, Florida, a neighboring state.On the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. Public domain. Source record.

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise"
SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh)Martin Johnson Heade, Florida Sunrise: still water and a palm-fringed shore glowing at dawn. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Shown: Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900), a neighboring state.Florida Sunrisetitle QS:P1476,en:"Florida Sunrise"label QS:Len,"Florida Sunrise", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1890-1900. Public domain. Source record.

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Fort George Island, Florida
WinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)Thomas Moran, Fort George Island (1878): a tidal shore of wet sand and shallow water at the river mouth, with cabbage palms and a beached ship. Shown: Fort George Island, Florida (Thomas Moran, 1878; Smithsonian American Art Museum), a neighboring state.Fort George Island, Florida, Thomas Moran, 1878. Public domain. Source record.

Swamps

Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha
SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Bay/Gum Modifier; Southern Coastal Plain Seepage Swamp and Baygall; East Gulf Coastal Plain Tidal Wooded Swamp; Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems; Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Swamp Systems; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp; Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Shown: Ocklawaha River, Florida, a neighboring state.Florida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha, Detroit Photographic Co. (chromolithograph), 1899. Public domain. Source record.

Coastal Plain seepage bogs

Open, wet, seepage-fed bogs of the Coastal Plain and Sandhills, often with pitcher plants.

SummerWinterSouthern Coastal Plain Herbaceous Seepage Bog

Floodplain and bottomland forests

Forests on low ground beside rivers and streams that flood from time to time.

SummerWinterSouth-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier; Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

WinterMississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh

Streams, rivers and their banks

Blue Spring, Florida
SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems; South-Central Interior Small Stream and RiparianWinslow Homer, Blue Spring, Florida (1890): clear blue spring water under overhanging palms. Shown: Blue Spring, Florida (Winslow Homer, 1890; National Gallery of Art), a neighboring state.Blue Spring, Florida, Winslow Homer, 1890. Public domain. Source record.

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.
Other habitats in its models (34)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Alabama. Those recorded in Alabama first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (24)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp Winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
  • Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
  • Lower Mississippi River Flatwoods Summer and winter, only within 250 m of water.
  • Mississippi River Bottomland Depression Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Low Floodplain (Bottomland) Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • South Florida Bayhead Swamp Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Mangrove Swamp Winter.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Summer and winter.
Land cover and other classes (10)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Nonriverine Swamp and Wet Hardwood Forest - Oak Dominated Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Central Appalachian Riparian - Forest Modifier Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Winter, beside its main habitat.
  • East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
  • Mississippi River Floodplain and Riparian Forest Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Alabama

  • Year-round: nests here, in 3 of 67 counties.
  • Winter: does not nest here, in all 67 counties.

Food plants

Diet records by plant genus, from studies across North America. Not a record from this state. Plants matched by genus.

Native plants in these genera 316

Plant genera in its diet records (30)
  • Lemna Seeds. 12 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Potamogeton Seeds. 10 diet records. 10 native plants in Alabama
  • Myriophyllum Seeds. 9 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Scirpus Seeds. 9 diet records. 8 native plants in Alabama
  • Carex Seeds. 6 diet records. 140 native plants in Alabama
  • Cladophora 6 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Ruppia Leaves and seeds. 6 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Ceratophyllum Seeds and leaves. 5 diet records. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Chara Leaves. 5 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Leptochloa Seeds and leaves. 4 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Eleocharis Seeds. 3 diet records. 37 native plants in Alabama
  • Acorus Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Bidens Seeds. 2 diet records. 10 native plants in Alabama
  • Bolboschoenus Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Cuscuta Seeds. 2 diet records. 8 native plants in Alabama
  • Galium Seeds. 2 diet records. 12 native plants in Alabama
  • Morella Seeds. 2 diet records. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Nitella Other parts. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Persicaria Seeds. 2 diet records. 11 native plants in Alabama
  • Salicornia Seeds. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Sesuvium Seeds. 2 diet records. 2 native plants in Alabama
  • Sparganium Seeds. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Alabama
  • Typha 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Alabama
  • Eichhornia 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Hydrilla 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Alabama
  • Ludwigia 1 diet record. 22 native plants in Alabama
  • Panicum 1 diet record. 6 native plants in Alabama
  • Polygonum Seeds. 1 diet record. 4 native plants in Alabama
  • Ranunculus 1 diet record. 12 native plants in Alabama
  • Sagittaria Seeds. 1 diet record. 12 native plants in Alabama

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Alabama, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.

Swamps

Birds 102

Plants 327

All of swamps in Alabama

Coastal dunes and beaches

Birds 118

Plants 134

All of coastal dunes and beaches in Alabama

Coastal Plain hammocks

Birds 65

Plants 146

All of coastal plain hammocks in Alabama

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources