Diving times and pecking rates of the Eurasian Coot (Fulica atra) in different habitat types: a pilot study

Diving and foraging behavior of Eurasian Coots (Fulica atra) have been scarcely studied in the Mediterranean area. In this pilot study, we compared the pecking rates and diving activities of this bird species in different habitat types of a small remnant wetland of central Italy. Mean pecking rate was 0.81 pecks/s. Feeding activity by pecking showed a significant difference between the selected habitat types with the highest pecking rate value in muddy soils with vegetation. The total-diving events were observed only in the deep water and not in shallow water, showing an average value of 5.27 s (+/- 2.39). Mean time of the partial-diving events was 1.39 s (+/- 0.75) with a maximum in rush beds with deep water, and a minimum rush beds with shallow water. We observed a prevalence of partial-diving events in the deep water habitat type.