Red-knobbed Coot ( Fulica cristata, family: Rallidae)

red knobbed coot kruger national park birds The Red-knobbed Coot (Latin name Fulica cristata) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 228 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 336 also a picture of the Red-knobbed Coot on page 305. The Red-knobbed Coot belongs to the family of birds classified as Rallidae. According to the Percy FitzPatrick Institute of African Ornithology the Red-knobbed Coot is also known by these other names: Crested Coot.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Red-knobbed Coot is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Red-knobbed Coot in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Red-knobbed Coot : see above distribution map.

Kruger Park Red Knobbed CootIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

The Red-knobbed Coot is a bird about the size of a Francolin now called Spurfowl. The height of the Red-knobbed Coot is about 42 cms and its weight is about 825 gms

The male and female Red-knobbed Coot have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is black.
  • Eye is grey.
  • Bill is white.
  • Throat is white.
  • Back is black.
  • Legs are green.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Red-knobbed Coot feeds in or around water mainly

Invertebrates

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Red-knobbed Coot is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Fulica cristata will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Red-knobbed Coot is to create the nest on water. The bird lays eggs which are yellow in colour and number between 2 to 6

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Red-knobbed Coot are: wetlands and riverine areas

You will normally see the Red-knobbed Coot in flocks.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unomkqayi/Unompemvana

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Bleshoender

German ... Kammblehuhn

Portuguese ... Galeiro-de-crista

French ... Foulque crte

Dutch ... Knobbelmeerkoet

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 228

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za