Cackling Coots

摘要

The expression 'bald as a coot' has a long association with the coot Fulica atra, a common bird associated with almost any source of slow moving water. The term is used to describe the bare patch of skin on the adults' foreheads, more technically called the frontal shield. It can also be applied to the chicks who resemble little old men who have lost all their hair, been out in the sun for too long and have got sunburnt, for the head is bright red. It's probably unkind, but they are really quite ugly.