PURPLE GALLINULE. 
129 
alike from danger to be dreaded from the inhabitants of the land as of the 
water. On the thick mass of withered leaves are deposited the precious 
eggs, from which in time emerge the dusky younglings, that presently 
betake themselves to the water, over which they wander, guided by their 
affectionate parent, until it becomes expedient for the party to disperse. 
The Purple Gallinule is a constant resident in the United States, although 
peculiar to our southern districts, where I have met with it at all seasons. 
It is in the Floridas, the lower parts of Alabama, and among the broad 
marshes bordering the Gulf of Mexico, in Lower Louisiana, that I have 
observed its habits. Beyond the Carolinas eastward, it is only met with as 
an accidental straggler. It never, I believe, ascends the Mississippi beyond 
Memphis, where indeed it is but rarely seen ; but between Natchez and the 
mouths of the great river, it is abundant on all the retired bayous and small 
lakes. The southern portions of Georgia are also furnished with it ; but in 
South Carolina it is rare. Proceeding south-westward along the Gulf of 
Mexico, I have found it as far as Texas, where it breeds, as well as in 
Louisiana, where I observed it coming from the south in May, 1837. 
Having studied the habits of this bird under every advantage in Louisiana, 
and especially in the neighbourhood of New Orleans, and the mouths of the 
Mississippi, I will now, good reader, place before you the results of my 
observation. In the summer months, the Purple Gallinules remove with 
their broods to the prairies or large savannahs bordering the bayous or lakes 
on which they have bred, and remain in those places, which are generally 
covered with thick and tall grass, until the beginning of September, when 
the vegetation having been dried up by the intense heat and drought, neither 
food nor sufficient concealment can be obtained. The young birds usually 
abandon these plains first, and while the colour of their plumage is still 
green, instead of purplish-blue, which tint, however, is assumed before the 
return of spring. During all this while, its notes are as frequently heard as 
during the breeding season. They resemble the delicate whistling sounds 
of the Blue-winged Teal during its residence with us. At this season also 
its flesh is best, although it never equals that of the Fresh-water Marsh-hen, 
Rallus elegans, or of the Sora Rail, Rallus carolinus. 
On the approach of winter, all the Purple Gallinules leave the savannahs 
and betake themselves to the immediate vicinity of ponds, bayous, or rivers, 
where through experience they become shy, vigilant, and cunning. They 
seldom remove from one place t: another, or travel at all, unless by night, 
although in sequestered parts they feed both on land and on the water by 
day. 
The Purple Gallinule breeds at a remarkably early period of the year. 1 
have found young birds in their jetty down clothing in February, and they 
