Coot!

This well-known slate-gray bird is the size of a small duck. It can be distinguished from a duck by its chickenlike, white bill. It resembles the Common Gallinule, which, however, has a red bill. The poule d' eau, as the coot is called in southern Louisiana, can be found on freshwater lakes and brackish ponds throughout the state in large numbers in fall, winter, and early spring. Sometimes we see coots making their way through the water like dark little ducks, nodding their heads forward and backward as they swim along. But they do not have webbed feet as do ducks. Their toes are equipped instead with flaps or lobes, which act as paddles. Usually coots stay closer to the shore than ducks; for, though they can be eaten, they are not as frequently hunted here during the gunning season and are not as shy. Often they come right out on the shore and walk around like chickens with feet two sizes too big. If we frighten one, however, or chase it in a boat, it spreads its wings and skitters away over the surface of the lake, splashing water in every direction before it finally manages to rise into the air.
Formerly in the winter as many as ten thousand coots could be counted on False River, in Pointe Coupee Parish, but now they are no longer seen there in such large concentrations, probably because of the growing popularity of outboard motorboating on this body of water. In spring, nearly all our coots migrate northward. A few remain in the state, mating and laying 8 to 14 speckled buff eggs on a platform woven of reeds or sedge back in the marsh vegetation.
--George H. Lowery, Jr., 1974, Louisiana Birds

You may be wondering why I am posting this article on my blog. Until yesterday, I had never even heard of a coot, with the exception of someone being called an "old coot".
My sister and I were on the phone and she told me about a coot that was on her pond. I just had to Google it to see what a coot looked like. I found it interesting and thought you might want to know what a coot was, also. She told me they dive deep into the water and don't surface for a long time. When they do surface it is far away from the spot where their dive began. I think it would be a great deal of fun just to watch one for awhile. Maybe this is where the phrase "you old coot" originated, but I can't imagine why that would be an insult.

On a different but similar note, we have been dealing with head lice this week...yuck! What a joy that is! As I finished treating and rinsing a head and scalp, I sent said victim to their daddy to have the nits combed out of their hair. As I propelled the subject toward their father I said,"Get to nit-picking!" Now, that phrase I understand completely and it is perfectly applicable when used in conversation, but "old coot"? I may have to Google a little more deeply.

Addendum: I Googled and it makes more sense, although I disagree about the coot being unlovely. So there is your tidbit for the day!

Old coot
Steve in South Dakota: The coot is an unloved and unlovely aquatic bird that shares habitat and migration patterns with ducks. Among duck hunters, the coot is considered a pest and a distraction. It is also a truly ugly and awkward bird, and virtually inedible to most people. So to call someone an "old coot" is to label them as a pest, unattractive, sort of an unwelcome hanger-on. Also, the coot is reluctant to fly, and when it does, it makes a great commotion in its attempt to get airborne, running across the water and flapping frantically. "Old coot" may also, therefore, suggest an old man who is slow to rise and reluctant to move.