Eurasian coots are round, black waterbirds with distinctive, chicken-like feet. Each year, these birds typically build new, bowl-shaped nests using leaves, rushes and reeds. But, while nesting in ...

Birds, like humans, have found that plastic lasts longer than plant-based materials. Water-dwelling coots, seeking to make do in urban settings, are now taking advantage of this, researchers say.

Each time the eagle made a diving pass, the coot ducked under the surface of the water, before popping back up. “It was weird,” Masicampo said. He’d seen eagles hunting fish before ...