CLOSED: A dead bird in my yard, need ID

This morning when I went to get the dog to come in he had something I thought might be a duck in his mouth..
I didn't want him to have it so I went to get it away from him.
There was no sign of trauma or injury. It may have died of a disease.

Here are the feet

Here is the head with a red eye showing. Sorry it is dead, but I think it must have died of natural causes since we are enclosed in a privacy fence and the dogs don't usually bother birds in the yard.
Edited to add that it was a large bird and I thought it may be a crow, but I have never observed a crow this close to know for sure.

This message was edited Nov 24, 2007 10:53 AM

The markings look right for a Coot.

American Coot

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Coot
I didn't think it would be a water bird because it didn't have the webbed feet. I hope Petey is alright having had it in his mouth.
My husband and I washed our hands well after removing it to the trash. I wish I could wash Petey's mouth, it would serve him right for mouthing it.
We do live near a creek with fish in it, so that is probably where it came from.
Poor thing.