American Coot!

I was rinsing my hair in the outdoor shower and turned around to be surprised by a large bird with a black head & a white beak just sitting in the cedar tree next to me, looking at me. I assumed it must be injured to have stayed there when I came outside, and also its left wing was funnily supported on a branch beside it; so I turned off the water & ran inside for a box in case it needed to go to Wildlife Rescue. Hugh came out with me and when he tried to photograph it, it flew from the tree to the ground a short distance away, and then it ran by the shed & down the hill. By this time I'd thrown on some clothes and I started after it, only to trip over a rock and fall down. So I got back in the shower and once done & fully dressed, went down the hill looking for it. I didn't find it. I hope that it wasn't really injured and was instead just pausing for a rest while passing by. I'm pretty positive it was a coot; not that many birds with white beaks that I could find, and besides, it seemed to have non-land-bird feet.This is not my photo, by the way, but it's a coot.