The males sport brightly contrasting black and white heads. The smaller grebes have stubby, pointed bills, round heads and short, chunky bodies. The smaller grebes will often submerge like a submarine, sinking slowly below the surface, rather than diving head first with a jump, like most of the diving ducks. Coots Coots are small marsh birds with short tails and short, rounded wings. Coots have lobed toes, making them both decent swimmers and waders.
Coots are black except for a white forehead and bill.
Their quirky chirp is heard as they contentiously battle over territory. Cormorants Cormorants often stand atop pilings or rocks with their wings outstretched to help dry their wet wings following a long dive for fish. Cormorants are exceptional fishers and have been caught in fishing nets as deep as 120 feet below the surface. In Southeast Asia, fishermen use great cormorants to capture fish. Sometimes rings around the birds necks prevent the birds from swallowing fish.