All About Common Gallinules. The Rest of the Story. At the Savannah National Wildlife Refuge.

All About Common Gallinules. The Rest of the Story.
Two Common Gallinules finishing their afternoon foraging, settling on a mud flat in the marsh.
Common Gallinules are medium-sized marsh birds with long legs and toes. The long toes make it possible to walk on soft mud and floating vegetation.
Two Common Gallinules stop to bathe and preen their feathers.
Preening is a maintenance behavior found in birds that involves the use of the beak to position feathers, interlock feather barbules that have become separated, clean plumage and keep ectoparasites in check.
After the bath, the Common Gallinule mounts the mud flat to begin preening.
When birds take time to bathe and preen, this is called loafing.
“Loafing” is the scientific term for when a bird is displaying relaxed behaviors not specifically related to feeding, breeding, or predator evasion.
After a time the Common Gallinules return to foraging.