American Purple Gallinule

American Purple Gallinule is an older, still widely used name for the species now commonly called simply the Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus). It is a strikingly colored marsh bird with an iridescent purple-blue head, neck, and underparts contrasting with an olive-green back and wings, a red-and-yellow bill, and a pale powder-blue frontal shield.

Its most distinctive feature may be its feet: bright yellow legs with extremely long toes that let it walk across floating vegetation like lily pads without sinking, a trait shared with other members of its genus.

Key field marks

• Deep purple-blue head, neck, and underparts
• Olive-green back and wings
• Red bill tipped in yellow, with a pale blue frontal shield
• Long, bright yellow legs with very long toes
• White undertail coverts

Similar species

The Purple Swamphen is larger, lacks the green back, and has a red rather than pale blue frontal shield. The Common Gallinule is dark slate-grey instead of purple and lacks the striking color contrast.

Habitat

Freshwater marshes, swamps, and ponds with abundant floating vegetation, which its long toes are specially adapted to walk across.

Range and migration

Found across the southeastern United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and much of South America. Northern populations migrate south for the winter, and the species is prone to occasional long-distance vagrancy well outside its typical range.

Behavior

An agile walker and climber in marsh vegetation, moving easily across lily pads and other floating plants.

Voice

Cackling and clucking calls given from within cover.

Feeding

An omnivorous diet of seeds, fruit, aquatic plants, insects, and small animals such as frogs.

Nesting and breeding

Builds a floating or emergent nest anchored among dense marsh vegetation, with both parents sharing incubation.