A medium-sized water bird with slate-gray body, white side stripe, and bright red bill with yellow tip. Long yellow legs (no webs or lobes). Walks on lily pads with ease.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The common gallinule is a bird in the family Rallidae. It was split from the common moorhen by the American Ornithologists' Union in July 2011. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands in the Americas. The common gallinule is one of the most conspicuous rail species in North America, along with the American coot.
Source: Wikipedia — Common gallinule Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. Slate-gray waterbird with a brownish back, a bright red bill and frontal shield tipped yellow, a white side stripe, and white undertail patches; yellow-green legs.
Similar species. American Coot has a white bill and shield and lobed toes; the gallinule has a red bill and a white flank stripe.
Voice. A wide variety of loud, laughing, clucking, and squawking notes.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Omnivorous: aquatic plants, insects, small invertebrates.
Behavior. A chicken-like marsh bird that swims with a bobbing head and clambers over floating vegetation on long toes; pumps its tail to flash white undertail patches.
§ Range
Eastern US and Caribbean
§ Habitat
Freshwater marshes, ponds, sewage lagoons
§ Threats
Wetland drainage, pesticide bioaccumulation, vehicle strikes.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the common gallinule is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support marsh protection. Skip neonics. Maintain shoreline vegetation.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — Common gallinule
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Gallinula galeata
- IUCN Red List — search for Gallinula galeata
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Gallinula galeata
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List
