28 replies to this topic

[Carolina]

Taken on 4/28/12 at Donnelley WMA in Green Pond SC.

Not the best shots so did not pay much attention to these initially. Was reviewing my photos from that day & thought that these look different from the many other Common Gallinule that I saw & photoed that day.

Could they be Purple Gallinule?

[Kryptos18]

They look fine for Common Gallinule to me.

[Triplefeather]

Common Moorhen. I have no idea how to tell the Moorhen from Gallinule, but the Gallinule has a greener sheen.

[BarnSwallow]

Common gallinule. They used to be called common moorhen, but the name has been changed to common gallinule.

[JimBob]

They used to be called common moorhen, but the name has been changed to common gallinule.

Actually they were split for the Common Moorhen.

[Triplefeather]

Actually they were split for the Common Moorhen.

Phew, for a second I thought my mind was making up the differences!

[Carolina]

Thanks all! Will have to keep trying for the Purple Gallinule.

[birdbrain22]

Phew, for a second I thought my mind was making up the differences!

To clarify... the bird now known as the Common Gallinule used to be called the Common Moorhen. The Purple Gallinule has always been such.

[Liam]

Why is this a Common and not a Purple? To me, it 1) looks quite blue; 2) looks quite tall; 3) lacks the white lining on the flanks, all which suggest Purple Gallinule.

[Carolina]

Why is this a Common and not a Purple? To me, it 1) looks quite blue; 2) looks quite tall; 3) lacks the white lining on the flanks, all which suggest Purple Gallinule.

Hey Liam! Your #2 is the first thing that caught my eye (the birds look a greenish blue to me) when reviewing my photos. Your #3 was why I thought possible Purple Gallinule. No money shot of that light blue forehead though so could not be sure which is why I asked for other opinions. It did look like a unanimous "no" until your post plus I have to admit those are not the best photos. Plan on getting better shots in the near future...hopefully.

Had thought that the bird in the shot below taken that same day might be a Purple also but again no view of the forehead & the side view is not the best that is why I went with the shot of the two birds with the good side view initially even though that shot was from a much farther distance.

One second there was a bird...


& then it was gone...

[Liam]

Yep, definitely a Purple Gallinule there! You can even see the blue forehead plate.

[Carolina]

Yep, definitely a Purple Gallinule there! You can even see the blue forehead plate.

Yes! Thought that I could make out the blue on the forehead plate also but hesitated to throw that in the mix. Thanks for confirmation that I was not totally off base in my ID of these birds.

Still...think that I am going to wait until I get a really good shot of a Purple Gallinule to add these guys to my list since I did not even realize that I was seeing one. Will file these photos under "Everyone else is blind except for Liam & I" <----this means that I am making a joke (just in case my humor does not translate or just isn't funny)

[TheBillyPilgrim]

Sorry too be late to this, but I'm in the Purple camp for all these birds. In your second shot, one of the bird's tails seems to lack the dark center under tail coverts that a common gallinule has. Plus, they look too tall for Commons (I used to see tons of both these guys in Fl growing up, and their posture is noticably different). I think we just can't see the blue on the shield in the first ones due to the angle.

Third photo is 157% a Purple, as Liam said

[Carolina]

Third photo is 157% a Purple, as Liam said

157%!!! Thanks so much for another confirmation.

Well then...this means that all those shots can't be put in that file after all.

[BarnSwallow]

I'm blind, because I didn't see the blue shield on that third photo until Liam pointed it out, and I even looked for it! Now it's plain as day!

[Carolina]

The thread that would never die!!! Hope this is not too annoying.

Just wanted to say that I got some decent Purple Gallinule shots this weekend at the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge in SC. I was able to identify the birds in the field & watch them for awhile. It can be wonderful to find a surprise in your photos after birding but it is also really good experience to know what you are seeing when you photograph/see a bird. This thread really helped me to be able to do that.

[MWM]

You beat me to it, I have a pic of a purple (showing the sky blue over the beak), also taken at Savannah NWR (a good place to find them in late spring & summer). Here's the pic anyway.

[Liam]

These are great! Where in Savannah NWR did you find them?

[Carolina]

These are great! Where in Savannah NWR did you find them?

I did the 5 mile Laurel Hill Wildlife Drive this last Sunday Saturday. The weather was beautiful & cool which help to limit the skeeter activity a bit. Got lucky & saw the first Purple at the second rice dike/walk on the left as soon as I arrived. This one did all sorts of great poses for me. Saw my second purple on the last stretch of mile skipping across lily pads right next to the roadway. It was a great day.

Edited by beaufortbirder, 23 May 2012 - 01:51 PM.

[Desertthorn]

Great pictures. Also I'm really glad that someone mentioned the Common Moorhen/Common Gallinule as Selbys still lists it as a Moorhen and I was really getting confused. (Which is easy for me)