Gallinule

Gallinule, common name for any of a number of birds of the rail family. Gallinules are similar in appearance to coots, but their toes have an undivided marginal membrane. This membrane and the great length of the toes enable the gallinules to swim powerfully and walk on floating vegetation. The members of one genus, all of which are dull-colored, are known as moorhens; the genus includes the species formerly called Florida, or common, gallinule. The remaining gallinules are generally brightly colored in purples, blues, and greens, often with red bills. One relatively small species (33 cm/13 in), the purple gallinule, is found in warm areas throughout the Americas, north to the Carolinas. Similar in color but much larger (51 cm/20 in) is the purple swamphen, which is called "purple gallinule" in many British books. This species occurs in warm areas of Eurasia, from the Mediterranean countries east to Samoa Islands, and in the cooler climate of New Zealand and nearby islands. A close relative is the even larger takahe (63 cm/25 in), a ponderous, flightless species of New Zealand that was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered in 1948.

Scientific classification: Gallinules belong to the family Rallidae of the order Gruiformes. The gallinules known as moorhens are classified in the genus Gallinula. The purple gallinule is classified as Porphyrula martinica and the purple swamphen as Porphyrio porphyrio. The takahe is classified as Porphyrio mantelli; it is sometimes placed in its own genus, Nortornis.

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