{"id":76644,"date":"2020-12-27T06:37:55","date_gmt":"2020-12-27T13:37:55","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=76644"},"modified":"2025-10-09T17:49:45","modified_gmt":"2025-10-09T22:49:45","slug":"which-bird-do-these-feet-belong-to","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2020\/12\/27\/which-bird-do-these-feet-belong-to\/","title":{"rendered":"Which Bird Do These Feet Belong To?"},"content":{"rendered":"

I thought it might be fun for all of you to try and identify the bird species that match the feet in the image below. What we can see are greenish, lobed feet, and a dark, rounded body. With just those two identification features can you guess which bird these feet belong to?<\/p>\n

By the way, this species is abundant and is found throughout North America, Mexico, and the Caribbean and it was photographed last week in Utah.<\/p>\n

Throughout the year there are times when I spot birds that I only see parts of them and that is all I have to identify which species I am looking at. Sometimes that means I only see their head, their back, their tail, or their feet because something maybe be obstructing my view.<\/p>\n

That could be foliage, branches, flowers, a tree trunk, rocks, water, or a combination of items. As an indirect result of that and the fact that I am usually being asked “What is it?” I have learned to identify birds at times using just one or two ID features.<\/p>\n

Once you have decided what you think the bird species is pull on the white square on the right hand side of the image to reveal a photo that shows the bird.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"American\"American
<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div><\/i><\/span>
<\/div><\/div>

Did you guess that the feet belonged to an American Coot? That is great if you did because that is the bird species the feet belong to!<\/p>\n

I’m sure most of you got the ID right away but people from all over the globe view my blog and what is a common bird for us isn’t for them.<\/p>\n

American Coots prefer habitats near ponds, lakes, and marshes and during the winter they can also be found on coastal inlets and bays. Their odd looking, greenish, lobed feet make it easy for them to get around on land and in the water.<\/p>\n

These coots are often mistaken for ducks because they mix in with waterfowl but they are actually members of the rail family.<\/p>\n

The photo of the American Coot walking in the snow was taken at Farmington Bay WMA during the winter of 2013.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"Adult<\/span><\/div>

Adult American Coot on patrol close up<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>

I adore coots for their feisty attitudes and the high contrast between their dark plumage and their ivory white bills is challenging. I don’t often willingly pass up on a chance to photograph them.<\/p>\n

Life is<\/em> good.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my American Coot photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What we can see are greenish, lobed feet and a dark, rounded body. With just those two identification features can you guess which bird these feet belong to?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":121850,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137,27,1022,697,709,26],"tags":[4004,4010,4142,2772,2773,7229,4121,4588,6279,4050,4328,4236,373],"class_list":["post-76644","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-american-coots","category-avian","category-davis-county-utah","category-farmington-bay-wma","category-salt-lake-county-utah","category-utah","tag-adult","tag-american-coot","tag-close-up","tag-coot","tag-coots","tag-feet","tag-fulica-americana","tag-gruiformes","tag-patrol","tag-snow","tag-snowy","tag-walking","tag-winter"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-feet-mia-mcpherson-2280.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-jWc","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":113092,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/04\/30\/american-coots-fighting-pond-pugilists\/","url_meta":{"origin":76644,"position":0},"title":"American Coots Fighting – Pond Pugilists","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 30, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"While I was at my local pond three days ago, I took my best-to-date images of fighting American Coots. I had a blast and laughed a lot while I took them.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Coot kicking a second coot in a fight, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/american-coots-fighting-mia-mcpherson-3527.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/american-coots-fighting-mia-mcpherson-3527.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/american-coots-fighting-mia-mcpherson-3527.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/american-coots-fighting-mia-mcpherson-3527.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":120837,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2024\/02\/11\/urban-american-coot-close-up-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":76644,"position":1},"title":"Urban American Coot Close Up Photos","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"February 11, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"Because it was a bright, sunny day yesterday morning, I went down to my local ponds. I photographed an American Coot munching on frosty grass near one of them.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Urban American Coot in winter, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/american-coot-winter-pondside-mia-mcpherson-7535.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":107716,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2022\/11\/03\/american-coot-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":76644,"position":2},"title":"American Coot Reflection","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"November 3, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"This American Coot caught my eye on my latest trip up to Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge three days ago in part because of the still water and the reflection of the bird.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Coot reflections, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-reflections-mia-mcpherson-3412.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-reflections-mia-mcpherson-3412.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-reflections-mia-mcpherson-3412.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/11\/american-coot-reflections-mia-mcpherson-3412.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":42736,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/10\/20\/american-coots-in-northern-utah\/","url_meta":{"origin":76644,"position":3},"title":"American Coots in Northern Utah","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"October 20, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"American Coots have interesting behaviors that I like to try to capture, for instance the way they run across the surface of the water during territorial chases.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Coot standing on ice, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-winter-mia-mcpherson-1236.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-winter-mia-mcpherson-1236.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-winter-mia-mcpherson-1236.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-winter-mia-mcpherson-1236.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":115372,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2023\/08\/24\/baby-american-coot-images\/","url_meta":{"origin":76644,"position":4},"title":"Baby American Coot Images","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"August 24, 2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday morning, I spent some time taking photos of baby American Coots not far from where I live. It does seem late in the summer for coot chicks.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Baby American Coot in Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/american-coot-baby-summer-mia-mcpherson-8459.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4875,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/25\/whoops-american-coot-on-thin-ice\/","url_meta":{"origin":76644,"position":5},"title":"Whoops – American Coot On Thin Ice","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 25, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Some images are simply too funny not to share. Even with those huge feet this American Coot (Fulica americana) couldn't stay in top of the ice at a pond near where I live in Salt Lake County, Utah.","rel":"","context":"In "American Coots"","block_context":{"text":"American Coots","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/avian\/gruiformes\/american-coots\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"American Coot falling through ice, Salt Lake County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-ice-mia-mcpherson-8219.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-ice-mia-mcpherson-8219.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-ice-mia-mcpherson-8219.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/american-coot-ice-mia-mcpherson-8219.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76644","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76644"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/76644\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76644"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76644"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76644"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}