Breeding adult. Photo: Rosemary Gillan/Audubon Photography Awards
Gallinula galeata
| Conservation status | Undoubtedly has declined over much of range owing to loss of wetlands. Still widespread and may be locally common where good marsh habitat exists within historical range. |
|---|---|
| Family | Rails, Gallinules, Coots |
| Habitat | Fresh marshes, reedy ponds. May be on still or slow-moving waters. Favors fresh marshes with some open water, ideally with some open ground and some dense cover along margins. Sometimes on more open ponds with only small amount of marsh cover. Found with American Coot in many places, but requires more marsh growth. |
Forages while swimming, walking on land, or climbing through marsh vegetation. While swimming, may dip head underwater, or may up-end with tail up and head down; sometimes dives.
8-11, sometimes 5-13. Buff, irregularly spotted with brown. Incubation is by both sexes, 19-22 days. Young: Can swim well shortly after hatching. Young fed by both parents, sometimes by older siblings from earlier broods; gradually learn to feed themselves, finding most of own food after about 3 weeks, though still fed sometimes by parents past 6 weeks. Young capable of flight at 40-50+ days. 1 or 2 broods per year, rarely 3.
Can swim well shortly after hatching. Young fed by both parents, sometimes by older siblings from earlier broods; gradually learn to feed themselves, finding most of own food after about 3 weeks, though still fed sometimes by parents past 6 weeks. Young capable of flight at 40-50+ days. 1 or 2 broods per year, rarely 3.
Omnivorous. Major food items include leaves, stems, and seeds of various water plants, also fruits and berries of terrestrial plants. Also eats insects, spiders, earthworms, snails and other mollusks, tadpoles. Sometimes eats carrion, eggs of other birds.
In courtship, male chases female on land; both stop, bow deeply, preen each other's feathers. Other displays involve lowering head and raising tail, exposing white patches under tail. Nest site is in marsh over shallow water, sometimes on ground or in shrub near water. Nest (built by both sexes) is solidly constructed platform (or wide, shallow cup) of cattails, bulrushes, reeds; often has a ramp of similar material leading down to water. Similar platforms built nearby, may be used for resting or brooding.
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