The American coot is a medium-sized water bird with dark plumage and a white beak. It lives on freshwater bodies of North America, swims and dives well thanks to special lobes on its toes.
The American coot differs from ducks and grebes by having lobed toes on its feet instead of webbing. It is important for nature because it controls the growth of aquatic plants and serves as food for predatory birds and mammals.
pecking
Worker
birth time
Submerges underwater to reach prey or food at depth.
bottom
Picking small food items from foliage, ground, or other surfaces.
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
lots of rain, warm summer, snow in winter
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
very cold, short summer, almost no trees, lots of moss
days
Warm summer
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
crustaceans
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
mollusks
small planktonic crustaceans — copepods, krill
beak
adult
Maturity
fish of small size
plant
Coconut
invertebrates
insects
About health
cool, lots of coniferous trees, snow in winter
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
diving
mo
rains are very rare, almost a desert
conifer cones
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
small fish
Captures or processes food by biting or nipping with the mouth.
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
Winter with snow
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
leaf
Height
Desert and dry shrubs
rains almost always, very humid
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
cones of coniferous trees with seeds
Foraging occurs on the floor of aquatic or terrestrial habitats.
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Food items are collected from exposed outer surfaces of substrates.
algae
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Warm summer and frequent rains
Tundra
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
leaves
young after fast growth
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
summer warm, rains frequent
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
live snails, mussels, oysters
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
Freshwater
gleaning
Actively hunting and capturing live prey.
from 0.5 to 0.8 kilograms, 0.5 – 1 meter
Pets
all rivers and lakes
Nearctic realm
Repeatedly strikes or probes substrate with beak to obtain food.
Mangrove thickets
biting
Lots of rain and cool summer
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
{name} jubilee
cm
Temperate coniferous forest
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Wingspan
turns
Rascals
warm swampy sea shores, trees on roots
Flooded grasslands
insect
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
grazing
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
foraging on surfaces, diving, and pecking plants
all rivers and lakes
Down color
lots of rain, cool summer, snow in winter
Feeds by cropping or nibbling low-growing vegetation or algae.
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
if born as {name}
Foraging takes place among trees and woody vegetation.
omnivore
age
birth date
swimming
tearing
Close
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
climbing
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
surface
primary food sources
Potential Habitat
Very hot summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Mass
young shoots and leaves of plants
cold winter, lots of coniferous trees: spruce, pine
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Gestation
Rips or shreds food using teeth, beak or claws.
aquatic
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
Food is gathered directly from leaf surfaces.
Nearctic realm
No results found
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
On the map
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
lots of grass, few trees, rains occur
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
Beak color
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
What if eaten?
Very dry
Neither
Moving up vertical surfaces like trunks or rocks to reach food.
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
nest
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Lots of rain and warm summer
from birth to death
much snow in winter, cold
Plumage color
water often floods the land, lots of grass
Freshwater
Temperate mixed forest
Duration
live insects
This is me
freshwater
Always very wet
Gamers
aquatic plants and algae
How are they built?
Temperate steppe
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
Frontal shield color
terrestrial
Taiga
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
active predation
Mangrove forest
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
foraging
whole life
Hermaphrodite ⚥
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
embryo
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
warm swampy shores with trees on roots, crabs live there
summer warm, many oaks, birches, maples
Length
kg
very hot and dry, rare rains, cacti live
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Lobed toes count
arboreal
Observations
◉{N} more on tap