Its dark body contrasts with white wing tips and white undertail feathers. It swims in lakes and wetlands with abundant aquatic plants, sometimes in moderate-sized groups.
Adults are dark anthracite gray to nearly black. White tips on the secondary flight feathers show in flight; white undertail feathers are visible when it swims with its tail raised. The bill is pale yellow and the frontal shield ranges from pale yellow to bright orange.
It swims and forages among aquatic plants in lakes, ponds, and wetlands. It swims well, dives less often than other coots, and may form moderate-sized groups.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.