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I have to confess that that was what briefly crossed my mind this morning - the narrow shield also looks good - but the bill is completely wrong - so I wrote it off as an aberant eurasian - but took a few snaps out of interest. The more I look at the snaps, the more interesting it gets
Hmmm.....the American Coot and the European Coot both seem to vary in their greyness but the eyes of the American do seem redder as well as having a dark bar towards the front of the bill.
Hmm. I'd like to see a shot with the head in profile. It appears that the feathering at the base of the bill may project onto the bill in a point, which would rule out American Coot. Not sure that the white shield isn't a touch too extensive for AM too. Must go and see what photos I can find.
I'm guilty of not looking too closely at Coots (I think the jury might acquit me there), but I think this is probably a first-winter bird. First winters are paler than adults (and have a slight brownish cast to the plumage which I think I detect here) and a much smaller frontal shield than adults.