Is Cornelius Coot a coot?

[iiv]

If he were a coot (which would be supported by his beak-shape), and not a duck, what does that make Donald? I suppose 1/8 coot according to Rosa's family tree. What are your thoughts in general about the birds' species? Ducks, geese and coots. Any more that Donald could be related to? Of course there have been parrots and other exotic species, but I think it's unlikely Donald is related to them.

[TheMidgetMoose]

Well, Cornelius is a Coot as far as the in-universe family goes. His surname is Coot. He is of the Coot family. Just as Donald is considered a Duck, he is considered a Coot. As far as exact species goes, it's worth noting that he doesn't look like a real-life coot at all. He could very well be descended from other types of birds besides coot, he just carries the surname Coot.

[iiv]

Thank you, I am not wondering whether he is a capital-C Coot, just the species.

[Scrooge MacDuck]

Feb 11, 2019 21:57:10 GMT TheMidgetMoose said:

As far as exact species goes, it's worth noting that he doesn't look like a real-life coot at all. 

Kinda does, though. In Barks's stony, no-colors rendition, that is. Of course, when he began to be featured in the flesh they just had him look like any other duck, but it's not hard to imagne Barks's Cornelius being a coot. Look at the beak shape, at the way it seems to go up his forehead (though not as much as on a real coot). 




Besides, it's not like Donald looks very much like ordinary ducks, either — let alone Mickey compared to a regular mouse, or dognoses compared to normal dogs. 

So yeah, it's generally understood that he's a coot, and anthropomorphic coots presumably just don't look that much like animal ones. And I'm pretty sure Barks's original intent was that he was a coot; the “General Crow” line in The Snow Princess makes me that much surer, too (the whole joke is that he goes from looking like one type of bird to another). 

[TheMidgetMoose]

Feb 11, 2019 22:27:32 GMT Scrooge MacDuck said:

Feb 11, 2019 21:57:10 GMT TheMidgetMoose said:

As far as exact species goes, it's worth noting that he doesn't look like a real-life coot at all. 

Kinda does, though. In Barks's stony, no-colors rendition, that is. Of course, when he began to be featured in the flesh they just had him look like any other duck, but it's not hard to imagne Barks's Cornelius being a coot. Look at the beak shape, at the way it seems to go up his forehead (though not as much as on a real coot). 




Besides, it's not like Donald looks very much like ordinary ducks, either — let alone Mickey compared to a regular mouse, or dognoses compared to normal dogs. 

So yeah, it's generally understood that he's a coot, and anthropomorphic coots presumably just don't look that much like animal ones. And I'm pretty sure Barks's original intent was that he was a coot; the “General Crow” line in The Snow Princess makes me that much surer, too (the whole joke is that he goes from looking like one type of bird to another). 

Yes, without colors he does look more look coot-like, but when he's shown with white feathers and an orange beak, the resemblance is really lost. You make a good point about animals in the Disney Comics Universe not looking very much like their real life counterparts, but, the way I see it, it is unlikely that any of them are purebreds. In a world where ducks, dogs, mice, humans, pigs, and other species are on the same level of anthropomorphism, I imagine that they can interbreed, and likely have so much during history that a modern "duck" probably has other animals in their DNA as well, with Donald being an example of this. I guess I would be willing to accept that Cornelius is the standard for coots in their universe, but I don't find it far-fetched to imagine that over the years the different species have interbred and that Cornelius may have inherited some of his traits from other species and is not a purebred coot.