purple gallinule

n.1. A colorful gallinule (Porphyrula martinica) of Central and South America and the southeast United States, having a purple head, neck, and underparts, a greenish-bronze back, yellow legs, and a yellow-tipped red bill.2. See purple swamphen.

purple gallinule

n (Animals) a long-toed purple aquatic bird, Porphyrio porphyrio (or Porphyrula martinica), of the southern US and Europe, with red legs and red bill: family Rallidae (rails, etc)

Thesaurus

Noun

purple gallinule - gallinules with showy purplish plumagegallinule, swamphen, water hen, marsh hen - any of various small aquatic birds of the genus Gallinula distinguished from rails by a frontal shield and a resemblance to domestic hensEuropean gallinule, Porphyrio porphyrio - purple gallinule of southern EuropeAmerican gallinule, Porphyrula martinica - American purple gallinule

Purple Gallinule

(Porphyrio porphyrio), a bird of the family Rallidae of the order Gruiformes. The body is approximately 45 cm in length. The toes are long. There is a bare frontal shield on the forehead, and the bill and legs are red. The plumage is turquoise and green, with purple.

The purple gallinule is distributed in southern Europe, Africa, southern Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and western Polynesia. In the USSR it is found in eastern Dagestan and Azerbaijan and in southeastern Turkmenia; it was formerly found along the lower reaches of the Volga and Ural rivers. The purple gallinule is nonmigratory; it inhabits the shores of reed-grown bodies of water, both saline and freshwater. Many individuals perish in winter during hard freezes. The nest is placed on a floating mass of reeds; a clutch contains five to seven eggs. The diet consists of plant matter, such as shoots and seeds. In the USSR the purple gallinule enjoys complete protection from hunting. It has been included in the Red Data Book of the USSR.

purple gallinule