Porphyrio martinicus


The Purple Gallinule is a bird that is often on the target list of out of town birders and bird photographers that I show around SE Texas during the spring and summer. When they arrive in April the colors are truly amazing with huge bright yellow-orange legs & feet; deep blue, purple and green hues on their body and a bright red beak with a yellow tip. Who wouldn’t want to see this colorful bird? In April, May and June I love showing people these birds, especially when the chicks start showing up. In July and August they start looking raggedy and on more than one occasion I have had people express disappointment that the bird doesn’t look like the illustrations in their field guide. This weekend I encountered this individual at Anahuac NWR and was excited to get some photos of the drastic color change that the bird’s beak goes through once breeding season ends. Instead of the brilliant red beak from the spring the beak is mostly yellow with a pinkish base. This change in beak color is something I have observed in a number of species and as I understand it the color change is caused by hormonal changes. They may not be as pretty now as they were a few months ago but it is interesting to see this part of their life cycle.

www.texastargetbirds.com

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