Azure Gallinule

Porphyrio flavirostris

The azure gallinule (Porphyrio flavirostris) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae.

It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.

The bill and frontal shield is a pale greenish-yellow. The wing coverts are greenish-blue while the back and tail are browner. The throat and underparts are white while the legs are yellow.

It is found in freshwater marshes where there is floating vegetation and this includes marshy edges of rivers and lakes. Nest is an open cup of leaves concealed in dense marsh vegetation. Clutch size is 4-5 eggs, incubated by both parents.

Diet consists of invertebrates, insects and seeds taken from water and vegetation. Climbs in reed stems to bend them over water to pick up food.