The New Zealand coot (Fulica prisca) is an extinct bird in the rail family, Rallidae, that was endemic to New Zealand. It was described in 1893 by New Zealand naturalist, ethnologist and museum director Augustus Hamilton, from material he had collected the previous year at Castle Rocks on the Oreti River in Southland. The specific epithet comes from the Latin priscus ("old"), referring to its subfossil occurrence. Remains have subsequently been found at several sites in both North and South Islands.