Purple Gallinule

Found on freshwater marshes and ponds thick with floating vegetation across the Americas, walking on lily pads and reeds using its long toes. Its purple-blue body and red-and-yellow bill make it unmistakable against green vegetation, and it is most active and visible early morning and late afternoon. Spring and summer, during the breeding season, offer the best chance of watching adults tending well-grown chicks in the open.