The Common Gallinule
Birds come in many colors. Whether rainbow-draped or drab, a bird’s coloring reveals its sex (male and female Northern Cardinals, for example, are different colors) and age (juveniles look different than adults). Color is also a function of a bird’s habitat, helping it to camouflage itself against predators.
The arrangement of colors on birds can even be comical; such is the case with Common Gallinule chicks. These “ugly ducklings” have a red face with bulging eyes, a two-toned bill, and neck feathers resembling a fluffy feather boa, all framed against a black body. It’s a look only a mother could love. These chicks are prepared for any avian Halloween or Mardi Gras party with a ready-made devil-diva costume.
Now is the time of year when one can see Common Gallinule chicks following their mothers or fathers around. Newly hatched gallinule chicks have spurs on their wings, which help grab vegetation or aid in climbing back into the nest. When threatened, a young gallinule will cling to its mama (or daddy) while she flies off to safety.
Common Gallinules are found in well-vegetated brackish or freshwater marshes, which can include ponds, wetlands, canals, and rice fields. While they can be secretive, gallinules are often heard before they are seen with their gargling calls; they will also hiss when threatened.
Hopping around lily pads and other vegetation in search of tadpoles, snails, and plant seeds, gallinules appear to walk on water. This illusion is enabled by their long toes that lack lobes or webbing. In spite of this, they are good swimmers.
Gallinules have a courtship ritual: the male first chases the female on land, they then stop, bow deeply, and preen each other’s feathers. Other courtship behavior includes lowering their heads and raising their tails to expose the undertail white patches.
The nest is a platform built on the ground in dense vegetation near water. Usually eight eggs are laid per female, but she can lay as many as thirteen eggs. Both parents incubate and feed the young. The young can swim well shortly after hatching and learn to feed themselves in a couple of weeks.
Description: Medium, chicken-size marsh bird with gray-brown back and slate-gray head, neck, breast and belly; white line found on wings or upper flanks; red frontal plate on forehead with yellow-tipped red bill; tail is white below; long, yellow-green legs; males and females look alike.
When: Permanent residents in Louisiana; in winter time, more prevalent in or near coastal areas.
Feeding: Seeds of grasses, snails, and other aquatic creatures; gallinules swallow sand and gravel to help grind food; they will flip floating vegetation to find the clinging snails underneath.
BREEDING: Nesting starts in spring with female gallinules laying two broods; eggs are gray or buff with different speckles and splotches; hatchlings are born with eyes open and covered with gray down, except on head and wings; nests may be re-used by different females.
Interesting facts: Gallinule fossils have been found dating to the Pleistocene era; Pleistocene gallinules were larger birds and are probably the direct ancestors of today’s Common Gallinules.
Birding question? Email Harriett at harriett.pooler@gmail.com.