The American Coot is the only native coot found in North America. Other possible vagrant coot species that have been reported are the Caribbean Coot and the Eurasian Coot.
Coots are excellent swimmers even though they do not have webbed toes. These lobed-toed birds, similar to the feet of such birds as grebes, need to run along the surface of the water in order to gain enough speed to take flight.
The coots prefer shallow waters for their feeding areas. They are commonly seen throughout the North American continent, in lagoons, small ponds and man-made canals.
Avibase - the world bird database This site provides the user with a complete list of bird species, broken down per country, or in the example of the US or Canada, per state and province. Here, bird species names are available in other languages, a great asset to be used as a translation of foreign bird names.
ABA - American Birding Association This site represents an organization that maintains official records of all birds species that have been proven to have been seen inside the perimeters of the North American Continent and the surrounding bodies of water. Regular revised versions are posted to keep the bird list current at all times. This is the list used by all serious birders over their lifetime. You may be aware of the movie called the "Big Year". It was with this list that all the competing birders used in an attempt to set a new record as to how many bird species that could be seen by an individual birder in one calendar year.
I hope you will take advantage of these suggested websites. I have used each of them, in one way or another, throughout the years in my quest to better identify and understand our fine feathered friends.