Eurasian Coot
Fulica atra · Waterfowl
Coot on the nest
Tenerife, 13 April 2026
A coot on the nest on a pond in Tenerife, a platform of reed and grass piled up until it clears the waterline and added to constantly through incubation. Coots are birds of still fresh water across Europe and Asia, and on the Canaries they breed on the reservoirs and park ponds.
The scrap of plastic worked into this one is a measure of how little coots discriminate in nest material, provided it holds together. Both parents build and both incubate, taking turns so the nest, and the eggs on show here, are rarely left uncovered for long.
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