Anne Elliott's photos with the keyword: foot

Lol, my title is a good example of why they say that English is the hardest language to learn! Not a great photo, but l like that it shows the lobed, not webbed, foot of this water bird (which is not a species of duck!). Taken on 17 May 2013 in SW Calgary. "Though commonly mistaken to be ducks, American Coots belong to a distinct order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold back with each step in order to facilitate walking on dry land. Coots live near water, typically inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies in North America. Groups of coots are called covers or rafts. The oldest known coot lived to be 22 years old." From Wikipedia. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Coot allaboutbirds.org/guide/AD_IMAGES/square-warbler.png?foo=... -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

We found this dead Coot near the side of one of the sloughs just to the east of the city. Many people think that a Coot is a duck. However, a Coot does not have webbed feet. "Each toe on the foot of the coot has broad flanges, which enables the coot to swim as well as walk on soft sediments and mud without sinking." From uk.encarta.msn.com.

I couldn't get a decent shot of the animal because of the wide, metal fence, so decided I'd go just for the foot! No sign of Malti, the new baby Asian Elephant, but I suspect that they were keeping her inside, seeing as we had a fall of snow the previous night and it was rather chilly.