Species

Common gallinule

Gallinula galeata

A dark, chicken-like marsh bird with a red face shield, walking on lily pads with its long toes.

Photo Jonathan Eisen (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Parenting

At a glance

Size: About 32 to 37 cm long
Weight: About 250 to 500 g
Habitat: Freshwater marshes, ponds and lakes with plenty of plants
Diet: Plants, seeds, snails and insects
In Georgia: A fairly common resident in the south and on the coast; scarcer inland in winter
Voice: A variety of clucks, cackles and chattering calls
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Dark grey-black with a red forehead shield and a yellow-tipped red bill; a white stripe along the side; white under the tail; long yellowish legs
Told apart from: American coot, which has a white bill and shield
Told apart from: Purple gallinule, which is purple-blue and green
Where to look: Edges of marshes and ponds, swimming with a bobbing head

Behaviour

Common gallinules swim with a jerky, head-bobbing motion and walk on floating plants with their long toes. They flick their tails to show the white patch beneath.

Young from earlier broods sometimes help feed later broods.

Why they matter

Gallinules are part of the marsh food web, eating plants and small animals and being eaten by alligators, hawks and snakes. The helpers at their nests, older siblings feeding younger ones, show a family life more complex than it first appears.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A platform of plants, often with a ramp, in marsh vegetation
Eggs — Usually 5 to 9
Incubation — About 19 to 22 days
Chicks — Black and downy with a red-and-yellow bill; leave the nest within a day
Flight — At about six to seven weeks
Lifespan — A few years

Living around people

Fishing line tangled in marsh plants catches gallinules and their chicks.

Misconceptions

Gallinules are ducks. They are rails, with long toes rather than webbed feet.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	Resident in the south	Present	Pairs forming	Nesting	Nesting	Chicks	Second broods	Chicks	Young independent	Present	Present	Present

Where it lives

Recorded in 63 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

If you found one

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