Allen’s Gallinule

Porphyrio alleni

Wetlands. Above green; head and below blue; blue frontal shield and red bill red with yellow tip & red legs

Coots, Gallinules, Moorhens

Not Endemic

Description

Uncommon and irregular late summer resident. Small, large-footed water bird with green upper parts, dark blue body, neck and head, and red bill and legs. Frontal shield varies in colour from dull apple-green to blueish, not all red like [African Swamphen]. Immature as illustrated; cf. immature of [Lesser Moorhen]. The call is a series of rapidly delivered clicks ‘dik-dik-dik-dik…’ or a melodious, rolling ‘purrrrr-pur-pur-pur’ during courtship. A shy bird; occurs singly or in pairs on secluded ponds with dense fringing vegetation where it climbs about tangled reeds, walks on water lilies or swims.

Quick Facts

Bird Family

Small to fairly large, long-legged, large-footed, mainly freshwater-associated birds. A few species inhabit grassland, vleis or lush forest undergrowth. Most water-associated species habitually flick their tails to reveal white undertail coverts. Coots and moorhens are blackish with brightly coloured frontal shields (foreheads) and bills. Gallinules have blue-green plumage. Many species are extremely secretive and almost impossible to see, except when they fly clumsily with feet hanging low over vegetation.