COMMON GALLINULE GALLERY
(Gallinula galeata)

eBird provides this description of the Common Gallinule:  Blackish, chicken-like marsh bird, often found near cattails, never far from water. Often seen swimming, picking at the water’s surface, or walking along the edge of aquatic vegetation. Thick legs and long toes are drab yellow. Adults have bright red bill with yellow tip, thin white side stripe, and some white under the tail. Immatures are paler and grayer than adults, lacking brightly colored bill.

I saw a number of this species on the afternoon of May 21, 2020 at Shoveler Pond in the Anahuac National Wildlife Refuge.  Hard to miss this beautiful bird!

Common Gallinule at Shoveler Pond, May 21, 2020.
Two Common Gallinule at Shoveler Pond, May 21, 2020.
I saw lots of Common Gallinule babies at Shoveler Pond, May 21, 2020.

More Info About the Common Gallinule From All About Birds…

The Common Gallinule swims like a duck and walks atop floating vegetation like a rail with its long and slender toes. This boldly marked rail has a brilliant red shield over the bill and a white racing stripe down its side. It squawks and whinnies from thick cover in marshes and ponds from Canada to Chile, peeking in and out of vegetation. This species was formerly called the Common Moorhen and is closely related to moorhen species in the Old World.

The Common Gallinule is most likely to make its presence known vocally first, but don’t worry, this rail is easier to see than most. Listen for a strange clucking and whinnying coming from thick marsh vegetation and start scanning the edges. It often peeks in and out of vegetation, either walking atop vegetation or swimming along the edge. It may also forage alongside American Coots in open water—its red shield sticking out like a sore thumb.