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Bird

American Coot

Fulica americana

Lives in Florida all year and nests here. Found in all 67 counties, across 14 habitats.

Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
14

At a glance

Group
Birds
Here
All year
Nesting
Nests here
Range
All 67 counties
Habitats
14
Habitat models
Summer, Winter

Where it lives

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

Habitats in Florida 14

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

1 of 14

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. Santa Rosa Island near Pensacola, FloridaWhite 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. Florida (Winslow Homer, In the Jungle, Florida, 1904)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. San Sebastian River, St. Augustine, FloridaOn the San Sebastian River, Floridalabel QS:Len,"On the San Sebastian River, Florida", Martin Johnson Heade, c. 1883-1890. Public domain. Source record.

Freshwater marshes

The Great Florida Marsh
SummerWinterSouth Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh; Floridian Highlands Freshwater MarshMartin Johnson Heade, The Great Florida Marsh (1886): open marsh and lily-dotted water beneath live oaks and cabbage palms. Regional view: the painting does not name the exact site. Florida (Heade, The Great Florida Marsh, 1886; North Carolina Museum of Art)The Great Florida Marsh, Martin Johnson Heade, 1886. 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. Florida (Heade, Florida Sunrise, c. 1890-1900)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. Fort George Island, Florida (Thomas Moran, 1878; Smithsonian American Art Museum)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; Gulf and Atlantic Coastal Plain Swamp Systems; Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Tidal Wooded Swamp; South Florida Bayhead Swamp; Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin SwampFlorida, Sunset on the Ocklawaha (1899): a dark swamp-lined river at sunset, with cypress and hardwoods crowding both banks. Ocklawaha River, FloridaFlorida, 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

Depression ponds and limesinks

Shallow ponds in Coastal Plain depressions, such as limesinks and the ponds in some Carolina bays, that rise and fall with the seasons.

SummerWinterCentral Florida Herbaceous Pondshore

Freshwater tidal marshes

Marshes along tidal rivers where the water is fresh but rises and falls with the tide.

SummerWinterFlorida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh

Mangrove swamps

Tidal forests and thickets of red, black and white mangrove along sheltered tropical and subtropical shores.

Winter

Salt and brackish marshes

Coastal marshes flooded by salty or brackish tides.

WinterAtlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh; Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh; Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh

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.

Floodplain and bottomland forests

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

SummerWinterBeside its main habitat.Atlantic Coastal Plain Blackwater Stream Floodplain Forest - Forest Modifier; Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Blackwater River Floodplain Forest; East Gulf Coastal Plain Small Stream and River Floodplain Forest; Southern Coastal Plain Blackwater River Floodplain Forest
Other habitats in its models (26)

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

In Florida 4

  • Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Dwarf Cypress Savanna Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Summer and winter.
  • South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Summer and winter.
Elsewhere in the South (9)
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Brownwater Stream Floodplain Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • 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 Peatland Pocosin Summer and winter.
  • Atlantic Coastal Plain Small Brownwater River Floodplain Forest Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • 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-Central Interior Small Stream and Riparian Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
Land cover and other classes (13)
  • 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.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Riparian Systems Summer and winter, beside its main habitat.
  • Central Interior and Appalachian Swamp Systems Summer and winter.
  • 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.
  • South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Forest Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Coastal Plain Nonriverine Basin Swamp - Okefenokee Pine Modifier Summer and winter.
  • Southern Piedmont/Ridge and Valley Upland Depression Swamp Summer and winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
  • Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Florida

  • Year-round: nests here, in all 67 counties.
  • Winter: does not nest here, in 13 of 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 237

Plant genera in its diet records (30)
  • Lemna Seeds. 12 diet records. 5 native plants in Florida
  • Potamogeton Seeds. 10 diet records. 10 native plants in Florida
  • Myriophyllum Seeds. 9 diet records. 3 native plants in Florida
  • Scirpus Seeds. 9 diet records. 4 native plants in Florida
  • Carex Seeds. 6 diet records. 77 native plants in Florida
  • Cladophora 6 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Ruppia Leaves and seeds. 6 diet records. 1 native plant in Florida
  • Ceratophyllum Seeds and leaves. 5 diet records. 3 native plants in Florida
  • Chara Leaves. 5 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Leptochloa Seeds and leaves. 4 diet records. 1 native plant in Florida
  • Eleocharis Seeds. 3 diet records. 29 native plants in Florida
  • Acorus Seeds. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Bidens Seeds. 2 diet records. 6 native plants in Florida
  • Bolboschoenus Seeds. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Florida
  • Cuscuta Seeds. 2 diet records. 9 native plants in Florida
  • Galium Seeds. 2 diet records. 8 native plants in Florida
  • Morella Seeds. 2 diet records. 3 native plants in Florida
  • Nitella Other parts. 2 diet records. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Persicaria Seeds. 2 diet records. 11 native plants in Florida
  • Salicornia Seeds. 2 diet records. 2 native plants in Florida
  • Sesuvium Seeds. 2 diet records. 2 native plants in Florida
  • Sparganium Seeds. 2 diet records. 1 native plant in Florida
  • Typha 2 diet records. 2 native plants in Florida
  • Eichhornia 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Hydrilla 1 diet record. 0 native plants in Florida
  • Ludwigia 1 diet record. 26 native plants in Florida
  • Panicum 1 diet record. 5 native plants in Florida
  • Polygonum Seeds. 1 diet record. 10 native plants in Florida
  • Ranunculus 1 diet record. 6 native plants in Florida
  • Sagittaria Seeds. 1 diet record. 12 native plants in Florida

Avian Diet Database (Hurlbert Lab), CC0 1.0.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Florida, 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 93

Plants 353

All of swamps in Florida

Coastal dunes and beaches

Birds 127

Plants 187

All of coastal dunes and beaches in Florida

Freshwater marshes

Birds 85

Plants 251

All of freshwater marshes in Florida

USGS Gap Analysis Project habitat models.

Sources