Original photo: American Coot adult and juvenile

Here is a photo I took in San Mateo, California this summer of a young American Coot trailing along with its parent:

The American Coot, Fulica americana, is a very common and abundant bird in California in the winter, but breeding birds are much less common here. The baby birds are scrawny and have red feathers on their heads. The young bird in this photo is something of an adolescent, it's further along, the red feathers are gone, and it is starting to resemble the adult bird.