From Opus

Photo by BirdsPeru
Location: Milloc, Lima, Peru November 2006

Fulica gigantea

Photo by megan perkins
Location: Salinas N. Park, Peru November 2005

[edit] Identification

Very large coot. Mostly black, lacking white in undertail. Head has a distinct shape as seen in image by megan perkins. Bill is red in lower mandible and tip, white upper mandible, and yellow frontal shield that continues narrowly to the crown where it is surrounded by two feather tufts, giving an impression of the head being partly split.

[edit] Distribution

Andes of southern Peru to northern Chile and northwestern Argentina.

[edit] Taxonomy

A monotypic species.

[edit] Habitat

Lakes of the high Andean steppe

[edit] Behaviour

Constructs nest on floating plant material.

[edit] References

1. Clements, James F. 2007. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to October 2007. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 9780801445019
2. Alvaro Jaramillo. 2003. Birds of Chile. Princeton Field Guides. ISBN 0-691-11740-3

[edit] External Links