The Red-knobbed Coot (Fulica cristata)
A noisy bird, an aggressive bird, it is likely to bully any intruder, even large birds such as Egyptian geese. It can be seen swimming on open water or walking across waterside grasslands. It is an aggressive species, and strongly territorial during the breeding season.
But what I hate about this bird – and I don’t hate many – its behaviour towards its own young is so aggressive, that only a few are likely to survive to adulthood.
I took a few photos of the birds with their young, lucky for them too far away to even throw a stone at them. They chase them, peck at their heads, how any parent can behave such towards its own young amazes me. Actually I hate this bird because of that. I accept that in certain species the young will fight in the nest till one is killed and then the other gets all the food. Natures survival of the strongest… but this is a parent against its own offspring….
I spoke to a pigeon about this and it informed me it closes its eye to such bad behaviour…
It also said the other alternate is to look the other way….
But as it looked down there was a Coot nesting below …
Were there eggs, would any of these survive??? I will be watching to see what happens…
The Photographic Journey of bulldog. 