Purple Gallinule - Porphyrio martinica

We saw the Purple Gallinule years ago in the Everglades, but enjoyed no further sightings until our recent visit to the Celery Fields in April (east of Sarasota, FL). While on the boardwalk at the southernmost viewing platform we joined a group of birders who were enjoying rather special views of a pair Purple Gallinules foraging below. The morning light worked well to illuminate the rainbow of colors in this most showy of all rails. Wish they had named it the Rainbow Gallinule, or even Painted Gallinule, as a tribute to the rich palette of feathers and soft parts.

Although these birds are sometime pretty common in fresh water impoundments (rice paddies, holding ponds, etc.) they are rather secretive much of the time. Perhaps best seen at places like the Celery Fields where they get used to the oohing and aahing of gawking birders.

The Purple Gallinule is sometimes a year-round resident in areas of Florida and the Gulf Coast, but migrant birds travel south to winter in Caribbean Islands and well into South America. Although not the strongest of fliers they are known for rather widespread vagrancy. They eat a lot of vegetation, including water lilies and water hyacinth, as well as insects, frogs and the occasional nestlings of other species. In some populations young non-breeding birds will act as helpers in feeding the young chicks, who take several weeks before they can find enough food to rely on their own efforts.