268 



KEY TO THE WATER BIRDS OF FLORIDA, 



Subfamily GALLINULIN.^. Gallinules. 



Genus IONORNIS Reich. 



lONORNIS MARTINICA {Linii). 

 Purple Gallinule. 



Adult male : Head, neck, and under parts bluish 

 purple, grading into black on the belly; above olive; 

 wing coverts bluish ; back olive ; crissum white ; frontal 

 plate of the bill blue ; bill red tipped with yellow ; legs 

 yellow. 



Length, ii; Wing, 6.50; Tail, 2.65; Tarsus, 2.30. 



This species is resident in Florida and 

 has been taken on the Atlantic coast as far 

 north as Maine. Ranges in winter to the 

 West Indies and Northern South America. 



The eggs are eight to ten, pale buffv white, dotted with brownish. The 

 nest is a mat of grass on reeds or in marshes. 



Genus GALLINULA Brisson. 



QALLINULA QALEATA {Lichf.). 



Florida Gallinule. 



Head blackish; bill tipped with green, rest of bill 

 and frontal plate deep red ; upper back slaty ; lower 

 back and wings olive brown ; under parts dark slate 

 color ; lower belly grayish ; feathers faintly tipped witli 

 white; some of the feathers on the sides having the 

 inner webs white near the tip. giving the appearance 



of white stripes; under tail coverts black; ; 



tail white and black ; legs olive green, reddish ' 



near the body. 



Length, 13 ; Wing, 6.60 ; Tail, 3.10 ; Tarsus, 



2 : Bill, including frontal shield, 1.75 ; Bill, 



from gape, 1.25. 



Ranges throughout temperate and tropical America 

 from Canada to South America. It is a common resi- 

 dent in Florida and has been known to breed as far 

 north as Maine. The nest is built in marshes, being a mass of grass or 



