- Porphyriops melanops
Identification
22–30 cm (8¾-11¾ in)
Adult:
- Black face
- Grey head, neck and breast
- Brown back
- Large white flank spots
- White undertail-coverts
- Greenish-yellow bill and shield
Juvenile: Lacks grey plumage of adult. Bill and shield grey instead of green.
Distribution
Most of South America from Colombia to Chile and Argentina
Taxonomy
Subspecies
Three subspecies are recognized:[1]
- P. m. bogotensis:
- Temperate eastern Andes of Colombia
- P. m. melanops:
- P. m. crassirostris:
Formerly placed in the genus Gallinula.
Habitat
Wetlands with lots of floating vegetation, such as ponds, ditches, lakes, lagoons and marshes.
Behaviour
Can sometimes remind more of a rail than a gallinule when not coming out further than the edge of a reed bed.
Diet
They pick food from the floating vegetation while swimming, but what they actually eat is so far unknown.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- BF member, personal observation
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved November 2018)
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Spot-flanked Gallinule. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Spot-flanked_Gallinule
