Blue Birds: Not Just Bluebirds

 Henry David Thoreau wrote that the bluebird “carries the sky on his back.”  Although this poetic description referred to the Eastern Bluebird, the meaning could just as easily be applied to two other commonly seen, predominately blue birds that are found throughout the southeast.  The trio of common “blue birds” in Mississippi includes the Indigo Bunting (Passerina cyanea), the Blue Grosbeak (Guiraca caerulea), and, of course, the familiar Eastern Bluebird (Sialia sialis). 

If any of these three birds has a claim to the distinction of carrying the sky in its plumage, it’s the Indigo Bunting—the male of this species can seem to change hues as quickly as the spring sky can fade from clear blue to a duller gray over the course of an afternoon.  Although any blue coloration present in feathers is the result of light reflecting off of the structure of the barbules, the Indigo Bunting’s appearance is especially changeable.  The reason for this is that the feathers are iridescent, catching different amounts of sunlight to appear any shade from blue-black to bright turquoise.  In contrast to the male, the female Indigo Bunting is a much subtler brown, with hints of blue in the wings; this more subdued coloration helps camouflage her at the nest, which is generally placed in a small tree or shrub.  In fact, thickets, woodland edges, and overgrown fields are the favorite environments of this sparrow-sized member of the cardinal family, and, like cardinals, it will come to backyard bird feeders for sunflower seeds and white millet.  Its relatively thick, stout bill aids it in cracking hard seeds, but, like many birds, it also feeds on insects.  During the spring and summer, the excited, up-and-down warbling song of the male bunting cues observers in on its presence—helpful, considering how difficult it can be to catch a glimpse of the vibrant blue bird when it is hidden in vegetation.

Singing male Indigo Bunting in the sunlight.

Male Indigo Bunting on an overcast day.

Female Indigo Bunting

The Indigo Bunting’s larger cousin, the Blue Grosbeak, lacks the eye-catching iridescence of the bunting, but it is also a stunning bird.  The plumage of the male grosbeak is a deep, royal blue with brown bars on the wings and a black “mask.”  For the same reason as the female Indigo Bunting, the female grosbeak is more cryptically colored: brownish gray, with a touch of gray-blue on the wings.  “Grosbeaks” are aptly named—their dark-colored, conical beaks are very stout and large, and point to their relationship with the well-known Northern Cardinal, which also has a large bill.  They can be found in the same habitats as the Indigo Bunting, but usually in much smaller numbers.  However, in spring and summer, it is not uncommon to see these striking birds helping themselves to feeder offerings, bringing delight to observers who realize that their backyard visitors are not simply oversized Indigo Buntings.  Once learned, the song of the Blue Grosbeak is quite different from that of the Indigo Bunting; it is a series of throaty, rolling warbles that befit this larger, less hyperactive bird.  Blue Grosbeaks may be less jumpy than their smaller cousins, but anyone who has seen the males battling for territory in the springtime, chasing each other through the underbrush, knows that they are far from lethargic!

Male Blue Grosbeak

Female Blue Grosbeak carrying nesting material!

Nearly everyone has heard of or seen the bluebird, known to some as the “bird of happiness.”   Unlike the other two “blue birds,” though, the Eastern Bluebird—washed with vibrant blue on the back—has a rust-colored breast fading into a white belly.  Female bluebirds have a similar pattern, but with more subdued coloring.  The contrasting palette of colors makes this species difficult to confuse with anything else, and the song—a short, lilting warble—is a familiar sound in rural areas.  Open woodlots, abandoned fields, and pastures all provide habitat for Eastern Bluebirds, which nest in rotting posts, snags, and the bluebird nest boxes constructed especially for them.  Bluebirds’ diet consists mostly of insects and berries that they find in their natural habitat, although they will also occasionally come to backyard feeders for suet, mealworms, and fruit.  Unlike the Indigo Bunting and Blue Grosbeak, the Eastern Bluebird is a member of the thrush family, which includes such familiar birds as the American Robin and Wood Thrush.  Because bluebirds—like robins—lack spots on their breasts, they do not greatly resemble thrushes at first glance; however, their slim, slightly curved bills, upright posture when perching, and tendency to flutter their wings all point to this relationship.  Interestingly, bluebird young look far more like their thrush relatives.  They have streaked and speckled brown plumage, with blue only in the wings and tail. 

Male Eastern Bluebird

As for seasonal occurrence, the Eastern Bluebird can be found year-round in the state, and the Blue Grosbeak and Indigo Bunting are present during the breeding season.  In a way, we are fortunate that these three “blue birds” are common and widespread across the southeast.  About thirty years ago, Eastern Bluebird populations were declining due to loss of nesting cavities and competition with invasive European Starlings and House Sparrows.  Concern over the bluebird’s plight led many people to construct nest boxes for them, which helped increase the population to a healthy level today.  The Blue Grosbeak is also doing fairly well—it has even expanded its range northward in recent years.  The Indigo Bunting is declining across many areas of its breeding range due to habitat changes, but it seems to be maintaining relatively healthy populations regardless of this fact.  Because it does not use heavily forested habitats, the bunting has fared better than many songbirds, but both it and the grosbeak are at risk from destruction of habitat on their wintering grounds in Central and South America.  Hopefully, measures taken to prevent habitat destruction in both North and South America will ensure that these three species of “blue birds” continue to thrive, bringing welcome touches of sky to the earthly environments that they inhabit.

Greater Roadrunners

I lived in Arkansas for several years, and one bird from that region that I sometimes find myself missing is the roadrunner.  Luckily, where I am now, I can still watch some of its close relatives, the Yellow-billed Cuckoos.  The following is a brief species account of the Greater Roadrunner.

The Greater Roadrunner (Geococcyx californianus) is a large, ground-dwelling cuckoo (Order Cuculiformes) that occurs in North America, typically in deserts, shrubby habitats, and chaparral.  As a member of the Cuculiformes, the roadrunner has zygodactyl feet (i.e., two toes pointing forward, and two pointing backward), and, like many others of that group, it also has a proportionally long tail.  Its plumage is brown and streaked, and it has a crest and bluish skin around the eyes. 

Greater Roadrunners begin breeding in early spring.  Egg-laying occurs mainly during April and May, although some eggs have been found during mid-March.  Two broods may be produced per season.  Courtship includes the male singing a song composed of low, cooing notes, and drooping the wings and tail during a courtship dance.  The nest is usually placed about 3-15 feet from the ground in a low tree, thicket, or cactus clump, although nests are occasionally also built on the ground.  The nest, which is a foundation of sticks with leaves, grasses, feathers, roots, and other materials as lining, is about one foot in diameter and 6-8 inches high.  The clutch size is usually 3-6 eggs, which are ovate or elliptical, about 39.2 by 30.1 millimeters in size, and are white with a chalky, yellowish film.  Eggs are laid at long intervals, and both sexes begin incubating as soon as the first few eggs are deposited.  The incubation period lasts approximately 18 days, and the newly-hatched chicks are altricial with black skin and scattered white, hair-like plumes.  The young are cared for in the nest for about 2-3 ½ weeks, and adults may continue to provide care for young for over a month after fledging occurs. 

Roadrunners consume a variety of foods, including lizards, snakes, spiders, scorpions, insects, rodents, ground birds and their eggs and young, fruit, and seeds.  The diet is approximately 90 percent animal matter.  Roadrunners range from the southwestern United States south to central Mexico.  More specifically, the range is north to north-central California, southern Kansas, and Colorado; east to Kansas, central Oklahoma, Texas, Pueblo, and Tamaulipas; west to Jalisco and Baja California; and east to southwestern Missouri, Arkansas, and Louisiana.  They are nonmigratory, year-round residents in these areas. 

Greater Roadrunner

Sutton, G. M.  1940.  Roadrunner.  In A. C. Bent (Ed.), Life Histories of North American Cuckoos, Goatsuckers, Hummingbirds, and Their Allies: Orders Psittaciformes, Cuculiformes, Trogoniformes, Coraciiformes, Caprimulgiformes, and Micropodiiformes (pp. 36-50).  Washington: United States Government Printing Office.

Northern Cardinal Life Stages

Previously, I discussed the nesting process of Northern Cardinals.  But what happens to the young cardinals after they leave the nest?

At first, not much: Fledglings continue to be fed by their parents for at least a month as they learn how to function as adults.  They’re not that different from human teenagers, when you think about it.

In my long time as a birder, I have had many opportunities to witness “teenager” cardinals as they hang out with their parents.  One year, some of the cardinal parents brought their young to the backyard feeding station, allowing me to see them up close and to study their plumage patterns and behavior.

Juvenile cardinals have dark bills, unlike their parents, which have red or orange-red bills.  The color change is generally complete by winter.  In the photo below, you can see a little bit of orange beginning to come through on the base and margins of the juvenile cardinal’s beak.  Female and male cardinals look very similar in the juvenile stage, but males can have a hint of red on their flanks.  It can be hard to tell, though, and the photo doesn’t provide a lot of strong clues in either direction. 

Juvenile cardinal

This next photo shows a different bird—an immature male.  This cardinal probably came from an earlier brood than the last bird, and its molt into adult plumage has progressed much farther.  Look at the red blotches on the head, back, and flanks. 

Immature male cardinal

The first of the two photos below shows the young male bird from another angle, where you can see all of the red feathers that are coming in on the breast.  The bill has also turned almost completely red.  A bird that looks like this has probably been fending for himself for a while, but he won't be ready to compete with scrappy, aggressive, adult males, like the one in the second photo, until the next year.

Immature male cardinal -- not quite there yet

Adult male cardinal

Although both adult female and juvenile cardinals have reddish tails and flight feathers, adult female cardinals have red crests, as you can see in the first of the two photos below.  In about a year, female cardinals are ready to compete for territories and start nests.  Yes, they compete in much the same way that males do; research has shown that, on breeding territories, female cardinals chase away other females, and male cardinals chase other males.  Females also sing, if somewhat less frequently than males.  Juvenile cardinals might sing softer, unstructured versions of adult songs, as they are still learning.  They will consistently give whistled begging calls whenever they want food from their parents, though!  If you find some juvenile cardinals in the wild, watch for their wing-fluttering behavior and listen for those piping calls.

Adult female cardinal -- note the orange beak

Juvenile cardinals with gray beaks

As cardinals—both the adults and the juveniles/immatures—molt from one plumage to the next, sometimes they wind up looking a bit weird.  One of the most common “oddities” is when a cardinal loses most or all of the feathers on its head.  These cardinals can look as though they have a horrible disease, but, in most cases, they are perfectly normal and will have new feathers in due time.  The cardinal in the foreground of the next photo is an adult female with a bald, gray head. 

Once, there was a distinctive female cardinal that I routinely watched over a period of many days.  There was a clump of feathers sticking up on her back.  (This bird is actually the female cardinal in the fifth photograph of the post.)  Try as I might, I never could tell whether this was an injury or simply a scraggly patch from a recent molt.  The cardinal seemed to have no difficulty in foraging, flying, and generally moving around, so I didn’t worry about it, but it was certainly interesting to observe.

Ruffled feathers?

As you can probably tell, the wide variety of plumages that Northern Cardinals display during this season of the year makes it fairly easy—at least, for a brief window of time—to determine their age and to track some of them as individuals.  By next spring, some of this year’s juveniles will hold breeding territories of their own, and the cycle will continue.

Source:

Halkin, S. L. and S. U. Linville (2020). Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.norcar.01

Spring Migrants: Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers

The mention of sandpipers often brings stress to inexperienced birders.  After all, sandpipers are those dull, brownish little creatures that skitter over mud and all look alike.  In other words, it can be hard to appreciate them.  But actually, on closer study, sandpipers are unusual and highly fascinating birds.  And, no, they don’t all look alike!  I will focus on two very distinctive, common sandpipers that can be seen in migration now: the Solitary Sandpiper and the Spotted Sandpiper.

Solitary and Spotted Sandpipers

Although they are not closely related, the Solitary Sandpiper (Tringa solitaria) and the Spotted Sandpiper (Actitis macularius) are often seen together feeding in the same ponds and lakes, frequently those with woods or at least low-lying vegetation nearby.  Both can be found migrating in Mississippi from about March to June in the spring, and late July to late October in the fall.  The Spotted Sandpiper is an occasional winter resident in the state, as well, but is more common along the coast than inland.

Both sandpipers forage and migrate singly or in small groups, and both exhibit tail-bobbing behavior.  With the Spotted, the entire body is teetered; the bird is in constant, jittery motion: scampering along the water’s edge, picking up small insects, mollusks, crustaceans, and even tiny fish.  The Solitary Sandpiper has slower, more deliberate movements, and when it pauses, it often bobs its head and tail.  It has longer legs and a longer bill than the Spotted, which enables it to feed in slightly deeper water, where I assume the menu would include bigger fish and frogs!  As an additional feeding adaptation, it often shakes its foot above the water to draw small fish and insects to the surface.

If you come unexpectedly upon either of these sandpipers, they will probably fly up immediately, uttering high-pitched peet-WEET calls (the Solitary’s call is the higher pitched of the two).  Fortunately, their flight styles are very different and distinctive.  The Solitary Sandpiper has graceful, swallow-like wingbeats and displays long, pointed wings and white edges on its tail.  Spotted Sandpipers fly close to the water and give fluttery, shallow beats of their shorter, more-rounded wings, each of which shows a thin, white stripe.

Once the sandpipers land on the bank and begin feeding again, their colors and patterning are apparent.  The Solitary Sandpiper is slightly larger than the Spotted, with a longer neck and body, and it has a wide, white eye-ring that gives it an alert look.  Its head, neck, and breast are finely streaked with brown, its belly is white, and its back is dark brown and shiny, with a dusting of tiny white spots.  The thin, dark bill and dark, greenish-gray legs complete the picture.  The Spotted Sandpiper is relatively small and stocky, with orange legs and bill, brown upperparts, a white eyebrow and slight eye-ring, and in the breeding season a boldly spotted breast and belly.  At least before the birds molt in the fall and replace the spotted front with plain white, you can sometimes tell the sexes apart.  Females have larger spots that extend farther onto the belly than males.

But why would the female bird be more distinctively marked?  The answer lies in the Spotted Sandpiper’s breeding biology.  Along with phalaropes, it is unusual in that the females are polyandrous, mating with more than one male—sometimes up to five!  Each time after mating, the female lays a clutch of up to four brownish eggs, which the male is solely responsible for incubating.  However, the female does help with constructing the nest—a shallow scrape in the ground, lined with grass.  After the eggs hatch, the male alone raises the chicks, which are born precocial like all sandpipers.

While the Solitary Sandpiper is monogamous and doesn’t exhibit such unusual breeding behavior as the Spotted, it is unique among North American shorebirds in that it nests in trees.  A female Solitary Sandpiper will add a little extra nesting material to the abandoned nest of a songbird, such as a Rusty Blackbird, American Robin, or Cedar Waxwing, incubate her four well-camouflaged, brownish eggs, and care for the young with her mate.  Tree-nesting is so unusual among shorebirds (the Green Sandpiper of Eurasia is the only other species known to do it regularly) that, for decades, no one was sure where the Solitary Sandpiper nested until 1903, when the secret was finally discovered.

Spotted Sandpipers are one of the most widespread shorebirds, commonly found over much of North America, although they aren’t known to breed in Mississippi and some other southern states.  Solitary Sandpipers are more restricted in range, occurring in the breeding season mainly in Canada and Alaska.

The numbers of both of these sandpipers appear to be fairly stable, and that’s good news.  With care and protection, generations years into the future will be able to observe the fascinating behaviors of these and other birds that have been living here for eons.  A world without the little brown sandpipers that enliven our fields, woods, and wetlands would be bleak.

Species Account: The Northern Flicker

A shrill ki-ki-ki-ki-ki-ki breaks the silence of the forest, and a pair of fairly large brown birds with flashes of yellow in their wings and tails alight upon a decaying stump and begin picking off little flakes of bark.

With its flashy colors and raucous calls, the Northern Flicker is a difficult bird to miss.  It is a permanent resident of the Southeast and can be found in a variety of habitats where deadwood is present.  Flickers often forage on the ground in search of ants and beetle larvae.  In my own yard I can sometimes see as many as six at a time, poking their bills into the dry, dead grass in search of these insects.  Flickers also feed on small fruits and will come to feeders for suet or peanuts.

At twelve and a half inches from the tip of the bill to the tip of the tail, the Northern Flicker is the second-largest woodpecker in Mississippi.  It has black bars on its brown upper parts and spots on the under parts.  A patch of gray extends from the crown to the nape, and the male bird has a black stripe on its face.  Both sexes have bright red bars on the backs of their heads.  The white rump patch and yellow underwings are conspicuous when the birds are in flight.

Northern Flickers have a variety of calls for different situations.  A short peeough is used as a contact call between related flickers.  The ki-ki-ki-ki-ki is a territory advertisement, and the flicka-flicka-flicka-flicka for which the bird was named is used during courtship and aggressive encounters.  These two longer calls can be confused with the calls of the crow-sized Pileated Woodpecker, but, unlike the calls of this huge bird, they do not change in pitch or loudness.  Flickers drum often, sometimes choosing to do so on tin roofs at the crack of dawn, creating a great disturbance to anyone inside the house.

Nesting occurs in spring when a pair of flickers excavate a hole in a tree, a fence post, a utility pole or a nest box.  Flicker boxes should be 16 inches tall with a 7x7-inch floor and a hole two and a half inches in diameter.  The box should be at least four feet above the ground and should preferably be filled with sawdust so that the birds can partially satisfy their desire to excavate a cavity.  Even with all these rules, flickers apparently aren’t picky.  They will use almost any box large enough, including Wood Duck boxes.  The 3-10 white eggs are incubated by the female during the day and the male at night.  They hatch in about 12 days, and the hatchlings are ready to leave the nest in four weeks.

If your yard has the right habitat, put up a flicker box and study their behavior as they fledge their chicks.  If you already have a nesting box, continue to observe these noisy but beautiful birds throughout the year.



Sources:

 “Conservation Trails.”  WildBird.   March, 1994.

The Cornell Lab of Ornithology’s Guide to Birds of North America, Version 3.

The Field Sparrow

The Field Sparrow (Spizella pusilla) is a small songbird in the family Emberizidae (Order Passeriformes) that occurs throughout most of eastern North America.  It is one of the relatively few sparrows that commonly breed in the Southeast. 

Field Sparrow in summer

Distinguishing characteristics of the Field Sparrow include a short, pink bill; white eye-rings; white outer tail feathers; and a plain, unmarked breast.  The species is found in a variety of old fields, woodland edges, fencerows, and agricultural areas.  It begins courtship and mating in early spring, with males chasing females and defending territory from other males.  Males maintain and defend their territories through physical altercations between males as well as by their song, which is a warbling trill.  In addition to this song, the Field Sparrow has several alarm and flight calls that are used in a variety of contexts. 

Field Sparrow in winter

Nest construction begins in late April and extends through mid-May.  The nest, which is placed at a height of 9-300 centimeters in vegetation, is built solely by the female, and is composed of grasses, roots, hair, and other fine materials woven into a cup shape.  The eggs have a cream or white ground color, are marked with spots in various shades of brown, and have a smooth surface.  There are usually two to five eggs laid in a brood, and the female incubates for approximately twelve days.  The mostly naked, altricial nestlings are fed in the nest by both male and female parents for a period of about seven to eight days. 

The most frequent foods offered to the nestlings include many insects in both the adult and nymph stages, and various species of spiders.  After the young birds fledge, the parents will care for them until they reach independence at about one month of age.  The adult diet consists mainly of seeds, but some insects are taken, too.  

The Field Sparrow is a widespread species, ranging from southeast and northwest Montana, central Minnesota, southern Ontario, southern Maine, and southern New Brunswick; south to northeast Colorado, western Oklahoma and Kansas, central Texas and northern Mexico, and through the Gulf Coast to central Florida.  Some populations of the Field Sparrow are migratory, although most are not.  In the northernmost regions of its range, it is present only during the breeding season, and in the southernmost regions (such as the Gulf Coast and much of Florida), it is present only as a winter resident.  Be on the lookout for Field Sparrows in grassland and forest-edge habitats as the summer wanes and the fall season approaches!

Source:

Best, L. B.  1977.  Nesting biology of the Field Sparrow.  Auk 94(2):308-319.

The Red-cockaded Woodpecker

If you live in or near pine forest regions of the southeastern United States, you have a decent chance of encountering the Red-cockaded Woodpecker, a specialist of those habitats.  You will likely hear the raspy calls before actually seeing the woodpeckers, which tend to be relatively inconspicuous against the trunks of the pines.  When one of them comes into view, though, it can be distinguished from the far more common Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers by its white cheek patches and completely barred back.  (Downy and Hairy Woodpeckers, in contrast, have striped faces and white backs.)  Males of the species have red feathers—the “cockades”—on the sides of the crown, but, because these are tiny and seldom displayed, they are not a particularly important field mark.

Note the barred back and the white cheeks

These woodpeckers are restricted to open pine forests with sparse understories of palmettos, grasses, shrubs, and other plants.  The open nature of the habitat is a consequence of natural fires, which restrict understory growth and possibly leave younger trees more susceptible to Phellinus pini, or red heart, a fungal disease that damages the heartwood of infected pines.  The softened, diseased wood can then be more easily excavated by Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, which will dig cavities 5-50 feet high in living trees infected with red heart.  Many of these infected trees are well over 40 years in age.  The birds peck into the sapwood above and below the cavities that they create, which results in a flow of sap that deters predators (such as rat snakes) and other animals from accessing the roost or nest holes.

Open pine habitat in early spring

Like most woodpeckers, Red-cockaded woodpeckers make various vocalizations at the nest and during courtship and other encounters.  Drumming on trees—usually pines—is another common means of communication, as are wing-fluttering, open-winged displays, and crest-raising.  The spread-winged display is used to reinforce the pair bond between a male and female.  Eggs are laid from late April to early June in a pre-existing cavity, rather than one that is excavated specifically for a nest.  The eggs are white in color, and become stained with pine resin over the course of the incubation period.  The female of the pair lays one egg per day, with one to six eggs comprising a clutch.  Incubation, which lasts about ten days, is performed by both parents, with the male incubating overnight.  Both parents feed and tend the altricial, pink-skinned, featherless nestlings.  Although the young birds fledge after about 26-29 days, they are at least partially dependent on their parents for up to six months afterward.  The Red-cockaded Woodpecker’s propensity for living in loose colonies or family groups benefits it during the nesting period, as unmated “helper” birds may aid breeding pairs in feeding nestlings and fledglings.  Usually, a pair has only one brood per year.

A foraging Red-cockaded Woodpecker

Interestingly, male and female Red-cockaded Woodpeckers are somewhat segregated according to the types of feeding sites that they use, with males foraging on branches and high on the trunks of pines, and females preferring to forage at lower elevations and only on the trunks.  Both sexes eat mainly insects and other arthropods, including cerambycid beetles, larvae and grubs of various species, ants, and millipedes.  On occasion, they will also consume small fruits and seeds. 

Although the Red-cockaded Woodpecker is a fairly widespread species, it is patchily distributed due to its highly specialized niche.  Habitat loss remains a serious threat to these woodpeckers, so conservation efforts generally focus on preserving tracts of large pines and subjecting them to controlled burning to clear the understory layers.  These measures seem to be working.  Just last year, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service downlisted the species from endangered to threatened.  Any birder or naturalist who is fortunate enough to live near one of the managed populations would do well to keep a sharp eye—and ear—out for these fascinating little woodpeckers during this summer and fall.

Sources:

Ligon, J. D.  1970.  Behavior and breeding biology of the Red-cockaded Woodpecker.  Auk        87(2):255-278.

https://www.fws.gov/press-release/2024-10/downlisting-red-cockaded-woodpecker-endangered-threatened

Observing Gallinules

My first sighting of a gallinule was over twenty years ago at Noxubee National Wildlife Refuge.  It was a Purple Gallinule, and utterly unmistakable: violet head, neck, and breast blending to green on the back and wings; long, yellow legs; red-and-yellow bill; ruffled white undertail feathers; and a chicken-like gait and stance.  I later saw Common Gallinules (then called Common Moorhens—they were split from the Old World species in 2011), as well.  I had heard them calling at a heronry in south-central Mississippi before that, but had not seen them.  As it turns out, even though gallinules may be less secretive than their cousins, the rails, they don’t always make themselves obvious.

Perfect gallinule habitat -- and a gallinule in the upper right corner.

However, this time of year—late summer—is one of the best times to look for them.  Both Common and Purple Gallinules can be found on many ponds and lakes in the southeastern United States.  They need lots of aquatic vegetation on which to build their nests and search for food.  In the summer months, they are surprisingly active and vocal, and often have chicks in tow.  

This Common Gallinule swims with its three young.

This Purple Gallinule stays with its chick.

Gallinule clutch sizes are fairly large; eight is a typical number of eggs, although, obviously, not all of the chicks will survive to adulthood.  In the video below, you can see three Common Gallinule young swimming with the adult.

Gallinules consume a variety of foods, including aquatic vegetation and invertebrates.  Their long toes enable them to walk on floating vegetation (generally lily and lotus pads) while foraging.  They sometimes pluck insects and snails from the undersides of leaves, as you can see in the following video of a Purple Gallinule chick:

Because their nesting period is generally in the spring, their young are pretty far along in development by this point.  It also helps that they are born semi-precocial, rather than altricial.  This means that, unlike songbird chicks, they are feathered and have their eyes open.  Unlike precocial Killdeer chicks, though, they still stay in the nest for a day or so and must be fed by their parents for several days.  Once out of the nest, they can climb through vegetation using the tiny claws on their wings.  This is a feature of birds in Rallidae, the rail family.

This Purple Gallinule chick is stretching its wings.

It takes several weeks for gallinule chicks to learn to fly, and it could be argued that they are never truly comfortable with that skill!  On lakes and ponds, gallinules generally fly for only short distances, but some North American populations do migrate from breeding territories to wintering grounds in southern North America or Central America.  The vast majority of Common and Purple Galinules actually occur in South America, where they are permanent residents.

An immature Purple Gallinule -- old enough to be away from its parents, but not old enough for adult plumage.  Note the white undertail coverts, though.  Adult birds have these, too.

Some of my favorite places to see gallinules are Noxubee NWR and Ross Barnett Reservoir.  Of course, there are many other areas to look, and, if you go exploring, you just might discover a new hotspot. 

Sources:

Bannor, B. K. and E. Kiviat (2020). Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.comgal1.01.

West, R. L. and G. K. Hess (2020). Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (A. F. Poole and F. B. Gill, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.purgal2.01.