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The purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) is a swamphen in the genus Porphyrio. It is in the order Gruiformes, meaning "crane-like", an order which also contains cranes, rails, and crakes. The purple gallinule is a rail species, placing it into the family Rallidae. It is also known locally as the yellow-legged gallinule.
It includes some smaller species of gallinules which are sometimes separated as genus Porphyrula or united with the gallinules proper (or "moorhens") in Gallinula. The Porphyrio gallinules are distributed in the warmer regions of the world. The group probably originated in Africa in the Middle Miocene, before spreading across the world in waves ...
The common gallinule (Gallinula galeata) is a bird in the family Rallidae. It was split from the common moorhen by the American Ornithologists' Union in July 2011. [ 3 ] It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands in the Americas.
In some species, it is longer than the head (like the clapper rail of the Americas); in others, it may be short and wide (as in the coots), or massive (as in the purple gallinules). [5] A few coots and gallinules have a frontal shield , which is a fleshy, rearward extension of the upper bill.
Purple gallinule is an alternative name for two species of birds in the rail family. It can refer to: Purple swamphen, a group of closely related species of swamphen of the Old World; American purple gallinule, Porphyrio martinicus of the New World
The closely related common gallinule G. galeata of the New World, and the tristan moorhen G. nesiotis and gough moorhen G. comeri of the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, formerly often regarded as conspecific, are now treated as a separate species by all the ornithological authorities, [6] following the discovery of significant genetic differences ...
Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and to be weak fliers. King rail, Rallus elegans; Virginia rail, Rallus limicola; Sora, Porzana carolina; Common gallinule, Gallinula galeata; American coot, Fulica americana; Purple gallinule, Porphyrio martinicus
In general they are shy and secretive birds, making them difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs and long toes which are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and are weak fliers. Purple gallinule, Porphyrio martinica; Sora, Porzana carolina; Common gallinule, Gallinula galeata