endemic to a single state or province

United States

Origin: Native

Regularity: Regularly occurring

Currently: Present

Confidence: Confident

Type of Residency: Year-round

Global Range: (250-20,000 square km (about 100-8000 square miles)) Hawaiian Islands; reported from all main islands except Lanai and Kahoolawe; most numerous on Oahu, Maui, and Kauai; generally at elevations below 200 m; occasionally individuals wander to the northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

Length: 39 cm

Weight: 724 grams

Differs from the American coot of mainland North America in being smaller and darker, and by having a more slender bill and larger bulbous frontal shield that is white to pale blue or blood red (vs. typically smaller and maroon or dark brown); also, a hump is visible on the forehead in profile (absent in winter American coots) (Berger 1981, Pratt 1987). A small percentage have a red shield and black bill marking similar to North American race.

• Terrestrial
• Freshwater
• Marine

Comments: Various freshwater and brackish wetlands, including lakes, ponds, reservoirs, irrigation ditches, and marshes where vegetation is interspersed with open shallows. Uses ephemeral wetlands in wet years. Most suitable wetlands are near coast below 200 m elevation. May build false nests and use these for loafing or brooding platforms (Matthews and Moseley 1990). Nest is anchored to clumps of emergent vegetation or occasionally free-floating. Nests where water level is stable (Matthews and Moseley 1990).

Non-Migrant: Yes. At least some populations of this species do not make significant seasonal migrations. Juvenile dispersal is not considered a migration.

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make local extended movements (generally less than 200 km) at particular times of the year (e.g., to breeding or wintering grounds, to hibernation sites).

Locally Migrant: No. No populations of this species make annual migrations of over 200 km.

Comments: Eats seeds and leaves of aquatic plants, snails, crustaceans, small fishes, tadpoles, and insects; dives for food or forages in mud and sand; prefers to feed near nesting area but may fly long distances when food is locally scarce (Matthews and Moseley 1990).

Note: For many non-migratory species, occurrences are roughly equivalent to populations.

Estimated Number of Occurrences: 21 - 80

1000 - 2500 individuals

Comments: From 1976 to 1983, numbers ranged from 400 to 2,300 birds with an average of 1,300 (USFWS 1985). In the 1980s, the statewide population probably fluctuated between 2000 and 4000 birds, with 80% of the birds on Kauai, Oahu, and Maui (Engilis and Pratt 1993, Scott et al. 1988).

Adults are aggressively territorial. Pristine habitat may support up to 24 individuals/ha in nonbreeding season (Matthews and Moseley 1990). Congregates during the summer nonbreeding period. Populations fluctuate with climatic variations (drought periods reduce the amount of suitable habitat) (Engilis and Pratt 1993).

Nests year round, but mostly March-September, apparently triggered by local habitat conditions (e.g., water level); clutch size averages 4-6; incubation lasts 23-27 days; young leave nest soon after hatching (Matthews and Moseley 1990).

• 2007
  Vulnerable
• 2006
  Vulnerable
• 2004
  Vulnerable
• 2000
  Vulnerable
• 1996
  Vulnerable
• 1994
  Vulnerable

United States

Rounded National Status Rank: N2 - Imperiled

Rounded Global Status Rank: G2 - Imperiled

Reasons: Small range on several of the Hawaiian Islands; population is low (a few thousand) and variable; habitat has been much reduced, and threats of further loss due to development are increasing.

Other Considerations: Listed as endangered by the USFWS and the Hawaii State Department of Land and Natural Resources. Current reproduction rates are adequate to maintain species' numbers. Coots can coexist with and possibly benefit from some human activity such as man-made wetlands (e.g., taro fields and golf course ponds).

Global Short Term Trend: Relatively stable (=10% change)

Comments: USFWS (1990) categorized the status as "stable." Establishment of wildlife refuges (e.g., in Hanalei Valley, Kauai, along Huleia River, Kauai; Kakahaia, Molokai; Pearl Harbor, Oahu, and James Campbell National Wildlife Refuge, Oahu) has enabled the population to attain some degree of stabilization, though numbers fluctuate.

Degree of Threat: A : Very threatened throughout its range communities directly exploited or their composition and structure irreversibly threatened by man-made forces, including exotic species

Comments: Decline has been due to loss of both natural and cultivated wetlands such as taro fields; this habitat loss has resulted from commercial and residential development, sugarcane cultivation, and encroachment of non-native wetland plants. Predation by introduced mammals (mongoose, rats, cats, dogs) may have contributed to the decline. A large portion of the population is not breeding (Scott et al. 1988). Habitat loss/degradation due to coastal development is an ongoing concern.

Biological Research Needs: Further investigation into optimal and subobtimal habitat needed, along with more studies on the effects of introduced predators and water pollution.

Global Protection: Few to several (1-12) occurrences appropriately protected and managed

Comments: Eight sites, including nesting areas, are protected in federal national wildlife refuges; 2 sites are in state sanctuaries.

Needs: Make additions to James Campbell NWR; include Kealia wetlands on Maui in the National Wildlife Refuge system; manage Kawainui Marsh on Oahu for waterbirds; create wetland habitat at Mana on Kauai (USFWS 1990). Engilis and Pratt (1993) stated that populations could be increased with an increase in properly managed wetlands and control of mammalian predators.

Comments: Formerly included as a subspecies of F. americana. Regarded as a distinct species by AOU (1993), following Pratt (1987) and Pratt et al. (1987).