Coots have black slate-coloured plumage. Their bill is slightly hooked with a horny frontal shield rising up to the top of their white head. They can swim underwater only for a few seconds, just the time to grab the grasses they mainly feed on as their body is too light to let them swim longer..
Except for the breeding season, they show a friendly attitude and form mixed groups with ducks and other aquatic birds from which they differ for "shaking" their head and their rounded back. In the spring, they make a bulky floating nest, which is tied to the reeds so that it cannot be washed away by the flowing water or by the wind and so that it can lift or lower according to the fluctuations of the water level. Their eggs, 6 to ten, are laid between March and June and hatch after about 23 days.
They need a long run-up before they can take flight: shaking their wings, they run on the water making a very loud noise.

Bibliografia

Svensson L., Mullarney K. & Zetterstrom D., 2013 - Guida degli uccelli d'Europa Nord Africa e Vicino Oriente. Ricca Editore.
Saporetti F. & Carabella M., 2012 – Uccelli Acquatici Svernanti – 25 anni di dati in Provincia di Varese. Quaderno 1 del Gruppo Insubrico di Ornitologia. Provincia di Varese, Settore Politiche per l'Agricoltura e Gestione Faunistica e LIPU.
Aletti R. & Carabella M., 2015 – Check-list degli Uccelli della Provincia di Varese – Lista completa commentata e illustrata. Quaderno 2 del Gruppo Insubrico di Ornitologia.