gallinule
1
9.9
- noun
- /ˈɡælɪˌnuːl/
- Specialized
- The colorful purple gallinule often walks lightly over floating lily pads in search of food.
- Hawaiian gallinule
Examples
-
The Hawaiian gallinule numbers only in the hundreds, although that number is increasing on both islands (Reed JM et al. 2011).
Academic text (2012) -
The colorful purple gallinules are vegetarians and often walk lightly over floating lily pads searching for their food.
Academic text (2006) -
The gallinules may have driven the local coot population to extinction by outcompeting it for Clipperton's limited resources.
Academic text (1996) -
By the time I first visited in 1987, the coots were gone, and a population of gallinules, descended perhaps from individuals blown to the island by a storm, had taken their place.
Academic text (1996) -
"Once Audubon thought he had espied some purple gallinules there, but his exhilaration passed quickly when he realized their little bodies were so mangled that I could not see one fit to draw."
Academic text (1999) -
In the marshes, a gallinule can be seen swimming gracefully among the reeds.
-
A purple gallinule with its striking colors is a common sight in wetland habitats.
Synonyms
1
7.7
A small bird that lives in marshes, like the American coot
1
9.9
A bright purple-blue marsh bird with a red bill that lives in marshes
1
8.1
A dark bluish-grey water bird like a moorhen that lives in North American marshes
A small water bird like a rail that lives in marshes
A water bird with mainly dark feathers that lives in ponds and lakes
A small water bird that lives in North America with dark blue-grey feathers
A medium-sized bird in the Americas that lives in marshes with bright feathers and long toes
A colourful water bird with purple feathers and long toes that lives in wetlands in Europe
A small bird that lives near water like a moorhen or coot
Compounds
- Specialized
1
9.9
A bright purple-blue marsh bird with a red bill that lives in marshes
- Specialized
1
8.1
A dark bluish-grey water bird like a moorhen that lives in North American marshes
A medium-sized bird in the Americas that lives in marshes with bright feathers and long toes
A colourful water bird with purple feathers and long toes that lives in wetlands in Europe
Surface Forms
Etymology
Gallinule comes from the Latin word gallina which means 'hen', with a small ending so it originally meant 'little hen'. That's why a gallinule is a small, hen-like water bird often seen in marshes.