An adult Coot attacking one of its chicks

This shows a poor Coot chick, one of seven, being attacked by its parent. Mum is biting the chick’s head!

I don’t believe this aggressive behaviour is fully understood but it isn’t unusual where Coots are concerned. One theory suggests this could be an attempt to “adjust” the family size by making a chick stop begging for food and eventually starving to death.

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[Photo courtesy of John Curd.]