Gallinules, coots, and rails of Puerto Rico

Common Gallinule: the easiest to find

Common Gallinule measures 12.6 to 14.2 inches, is slate gray, and has a thick bill with a red frontal shield and yellow tip, a white flank stripe, and greenish legs. In displays it shows white patches under the tail. Immatures are paler gray without the red bill.

It lives on rivers, canals, ditches, reservoirs, densely vegetated ponds, and even mangroves on the main island, Culebra, and Vieques. It breeds year-round on floating vegetation, in shrubs, or on the ground, with the most activity from March to June according to the Atlas. The Laguna Cartagena refuge checklist rates it abundant in every season.

American Coot: white bill and a name that changed

American Coot is charcoal gray, slightly larger than the gallinule, with a thick white bill and a frontal shield that may be all white or show dark red at the top. Its toes have lobes instead of webs, it dives more than the gallinule, and it patters across the water to take off. In Puerto Rico it is called gallinazo, a word that means vulture in some other countries.

Until 2016, white-shielded coots were treated as a separate species, Caribbean Coot. The 57th supplement to the North American check-list merged them into American Coot because the two mate at random regardless of shield color. In eBird you can still report White-shielded or Red-shielded birds. In Puerto Rico it is an uncommon breeder joined by winter visitors from North America, and the DNER keeps it as vulnerable.

Purple Gallinule: jewel colors in the cattails

Purple Gallinule is purple and green, with a pale blue shield above a red, yellow-tipped bill, bright yellow legs, and white under the tail. Its long toes let it walk on floating plants, and it flies short distances with its legs dangling. Immatures are buff-brown and olive but already have the same bill shape.

In Puerto Rico it is an uncommon to rare resident of coastal wetlands. The Atlas recorded it in 19 hexagons and lists it as regular at Humacao Natural Reserve and Caño Tiburones, as well as the Las Cucharillas marsh in Cataño and Boquerón Wildlife Refuge. It nests among cattails or rice grass; the Atlas found the most breeding activity in March.

Clapper Rail and the secretive crakes

What many people search for as a "mangrove hen" is the Clapper Rail, called Pollo de Mangle in Puerto Rico: a brown, long-billed rail of mangroves, salt flats, and salt marshes. It is a locally common resident, especially on the south and southwest coasts where mangroves are extensive; on the north coast, Piñones stands out. It builds a stick nest among mangrove roots.

The crakes are harder. Yellow-breasted Crake, or Gallito Amarillo, is a tiny resident of freshwater marshes that produced only 11 Atlas records, at places such as Humacao, Boquerón, Caño Tiburones, and Laguna Cartagena. Sora arrives as a migrant, and Black Rail (Gallito Negro), rated Endangered by the IUCN, is listed as rare on the Laguna Cartagena checklist.

How to tell them apart in ten seconds

Look at the bill and shield first: red with a yellow tip plus a white flank stripe means Common Gallinule; thick and white means American Coot; a pale blue shield on a purple body means Purple Gallinule. Then check the legs: greenish on Common, yellow on Purple. If the bird is brown, long-billed, and walking on mangrove mud, think Clapper Rail.

Your ears help as much as your eyes. Common Gallinule gives squawks and croaks similar to the coot's, and the coot clucks, cackles, and grunts day and night. Many crakes are found almost only by voice at dawn or dusk. Record what you hear from the cattails on your phone and compare it with the audio on each profile.

Where to see them and how to protect their habitat

For Common Gallinule, almost any vegetated lowland pond will do. To see several species on one outing, the best choices are Laguna Cartagena, Humacao Natural Reserve, and Caño Tiburones; for Clapper Rail, try the southern mangroves and Piñones. At Laguna Cartagena, the refuge checklist also includes Purple Gallinule, American Coot, Sora, and Yellow-breasted Crake.

These rails nest on floating plants or in cattails, so do not walk vegetated shorelines or use song playback in breeding season. Stay on trails and watch families with chicks from a distance. Filling and pollution of small wetlands also affect them: logging a record with date and place helps document which ponds matter.

What is a gallareta?

In Puerto Rico, the gallareta is the Common Gallinule (Gallinula galeata), a dark gray resident of ponds and canals with a red, yellow-tipped shield and bill and a white flank stripe. It is a rail, related to the Clapper Rail, not a duck.

Is a gallinule a duck?

No. Although it swims like a duck, the gallinule belongs to the rail family (Rallidae) in the crane order. It has no flat bill or webbed feet; its long toes let it walk across vegetation.

What is the difference between a gallinule and a coot?

Common Gallinule has a red, yellow-tipped bill and shield and a white flank stripe. American Coot has a white bill, no flank stripe, and lobed toes. The coot also dives more and tends to use more open water.

What is the mangrove hen?

People searching for a "mangrove hen" almost always mean the Clapper Rail (Rallus crepitans), called Pollo de Mangle in Puerto Rico: a brown, long-billed rail of mangroves and salt flats. It is a locally common resident, especially on the south and southwest coasts.

Are there Purple Gallinules in Puerto Rico?

Yes. Purple Gallinule is an uncommon to rare resident of coastal wetlands. It is most regular at Humacao Natural Reserve and Caño Tiburones and is identified by its purple-and-green body, pale blue shield, and yellow legs.

What does a gallinule sound like?

Common Gallinule gives squawks, clucks, and croaking notes that rise, fall, or stay flat, similar to the coot's. It is often heard from the cattails before it is seen; its profile has field recordings you can play.