Crazy as a coot? Not hardly
We have all heard them - the animal clichs. We may have used them a time or two ourselves.
Hungry as a bear. Blind as a bat. Quiet as a mouse. Happy as a clam. Crazy as a coot. Sick as a dog. Strong as an ox. Drunk as a skunk.
OK, let's pick out one of these and take a closer look. Crazy as a coot.
Are coots crazy? Hardly. Do they act crazy sometimes? Perhaps.
What we have in abundant numbers in Arkansas in cooler times of the year are American coots. They definitely are Rodney Dangerfield birds in that they get no respect. Well, practically no respect. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission does set a hunting season for them each year - it is the same as duck hunting season, and there is a daily bag limit of 15 on coots.
Have you every heard someone say they got a limit of coots?
Frequently termed "those funny little ducks," coots are not ducks. They are members of the rail family. Most cousins of the coot, the several rail species and the purple gallinule, birds found in Arkansas, live on land but near water. They are shy creatures, not often seen as they scoot among reeds and grasses.
Coots are different. They spend most of their time on water, not land. They are highly visible, and they congregate in groups, unlike the rails and gallinules that tend to be loners.
Some characteristics of coots may be the source of that familiar saying - the "crazy as a coot" bit.
The birds make a number of different sounds, some of them harsh, close to screeches, some clucks, some whistles. When they take off from the water, they don't jump up and take flight quickly like, say, mallards. Instead, the coot has to run on the surface of the water to get airborne. The coot may run for quite a ways then plop back down into the water instead of flying - maybe a change of plans. During this run to take to the air, coots may chatter a good bit.
When male and female coots are in courtship, their antics also may add to the "crazy" concept. They splash water along with the talking back and forth.
In Arkansas, coots hang around longer than ducks in general. A few are here now, but most migrate back to northern areas near the end of winter or in early spring. They'll return in the fall.
Coots are omnivorous, meaning they eat both plant and animal material. They'll dive deep into water to pick aquatic vegetation they like. They'll go for snails, mollusks, minnows and other water life.
A habit of coots, when they are in groups in the water, is to bunch tightly together at the sign of danger. Let an osprey or a bald eagle approach, and a group of coots spread over an acre will quickly pack into a circle smaller than a modest bedroom.
Coots were a part of a still unsolved wildlife mystery in Arkansas.
In the 1990s, wintering eagles began dying on DeGray Lake in southwest Arkansas. More eagles died in following years on nearby lakes like Ouachita and Hamilton. Intense investigation by state and federal authorities found a common link. The eagles that died had fed on coots. Some coots appeared sick, and these were the ones the eagles grabbed, the easier targets.
The malady occurred in smaller numbers in Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, and scientists concluded it was a disease affecting brains that was previously unknown.
Since coots are game birds, they must be edible, right? It depends on who you ask. Yes, they can be eaten. Most wild game cooks and appreciators rank the coot well down the list of favorite table fare. One commented, "I put the coot on a par with the possum for eating."
In the Cajun county of Louisiana, coots are known as poule d'eau, French for chicken of the water. Coots are used in gumbo in that region, a traditional dish making heavy use of the Cajun cooking trinity - onion, bell pepper and celery.