Common Gallinules are truly interesting birds, and my appreciation for them began when I saw them for the first time in Florida in my 20s. Since then I’ve seen them in many states and always enjoy getting a peek at them. While they may not be as glamorous as the spectacularly colored Purple Gallinules, they are still fascinating and beautiful.
All Gallinules are actually rails, and they do at times act just like other members of that family—like Sora and Virginia rails. They will walk carefully through and on aquatic vegetation looking for food. At other times they appear to be much more duck-like, swimming and floating about like a Mallard.
They also have a bunch of different calls, varying from croaks and whinnies to clucks, almost like a chicken. Some of their calls end with a laughing sound. That’s pretty cool!
For some reason I never managed to get great photos of these guys until this year, when I got plenty. I had never birded in the Orlando area before, and I ended up getting a lot of different birds than those I’ve seen in the Everglades and Ft Myers areas.
