Wading Birds & Marsh Birds
Common Gallinule
Gallinula galeata
A dark, duck-sized marsh bird with a bright red forehead. It walks across floating plants on long toes and swims with a head-bobbing motion.
How to identify it
- Dark slate-gray body
- Red forehead shield and red bill with a yellow tip
- White stripe along the side
- Yellow-green legs with very long toes
- Bobs its head while swimming
SizeBetween an American Robin and an American Crow
Song Sparrow6 in
American Robin10 in
Common Gallinule14 in
American Crow19 in
6 inAverage length, bill to tail
Details
- Size
- 12–15 in long; wingspan about 21 in
- Weight
- about 7–17 oz
- Habitat
- Freshwater marshes, ponds and lakes with dense vegetation
- When to see it
- Year-round in the far South; summer across much of the East
- Diet
- Aquatic plants, seeds, snails and insects
Range in the United States
Life history
Food
Eats aquatic plants, seeds and fruits, plus snails, insects and other small animals.
Nesting
A bowl of plants built over water among reeds or cattails, sometimes with a ramp.
- Clutch
- 5–11 eggs
- Incubation
- 19–22 days
- Young
- Leave the nest within a few days; fly at about 6–7 weeks
- Broods
- 1–2 per year
Behavior
Swims with a pumping head motion and walks on floating plants. Older chicks from a first brood may help feed younger siblings.
Conservation
Common across much of its range.
Cool facts
- It was split from the Old World Common Moorhen in 2011.
- Its long toes spread its weight so it can walk on lily pads.
- Chicks are black and fluffy with bright red-and-yellow bills.
Songs & calls
▶Bird sounds video coming soon
Watch the Common Gallinule
▶Video coming soon
