coot feet

Coot feet are crazy lookin'. They have lobate webbing, unlike the classic palmate webbing seen on ducks. There are four types of webbing when it comes to bird feet:

• Palmate: Fully webbed front toes. This is what you think of when you hear webbed feet.
• Totipalmate: Front and anterior toes are webbed. Seen in pelicans and boobies.
• Semipalmate: Like a less developed palmate web. Usually plovers or sandpipers.
• Lobate: Enter the coot foot. Each toe has its own little flap. Also seen on grebes and a few other birds.

While fully webbed together toes do wonders for swimming, they are rather impractical for land traversal. The coot foot adapts to this issue with lobes that spread as it propels through water, and fold back as it walks on land. These feet also aid in flight by allowing the bird to sprint across the water before taking off. Coots, which are at times agressive birds, also use their fantastic feet as weapons. They lean up onto their backs, raise their massive feet, and proceed to kick and claw at their opponents. This type of fighting is also known as tussling.