The Purple Gallinule is a stunningly colorful bird found in the southeastern part of the United States, specifically in the marshes of the extreme southeastern US. 

This bird is one of the most vividly colored birds in all of North America, with a color palette that blends surprisingly well with tropical and subtropical wetlands. It combines cherry red, sky blue, moss green, aquamarine, indigo, violet, and school-bus yellow to create a strikingly beautiful appearance.

   The Purple Gallinule has a long lifespan and can live up to 7 years and 4 months. It is commonly found in wetlands and can often be seen walking gingerly across water lilies and other floating vegetation as it hunts frogs and invertebrates or picks at tubers. If you happen to have a small pond or water feature with floating vegetation such as water lilies in your yard, you might attract this bird. The chicks of the Purple Gallinule are fascinating creatures. They are "sub-precocial," which means they can walk around soon after hatching but cannot feed themselves for the first few weeks of life. They come equipped with a tiny claw at the end of their pollex (innermost digit, corresponding to a human thumb), which helps them grip vegetation as they move around their environment. The Purple Gallinule is an extraordinary flier and can turn up far out of its normal range surprisingly often. It has even been sighted in various places across the world, such as Iceland, Switzerland, South Georgia island, the Galápagos, and South Africa.

 A recent study noted that these wanderers may not be lost but perhaps seeking places to feed because their usual haunts do not have adequate food. In the tropics, such as Panama and Costa Rica, Purple Gallinules often have multiple broods per year. It is an unusual behavior for rails that juvenile and immature birds often assist parents with feeding and defending new chicks and the family’s territory. The pictures of this bird were taken by Jeff in his backyard using a Canon SX70HS. 

These pictures capture the true beauty of this stunningly colorful bird