The purple gallinule is a beautifully colored duck-like bird of southern and tropical wetlands. The purple gallinule can be often be seen walking on top of floating vegetation like it is here. According to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, its extremely long toes help it walk on lily pads without sinking. I found this colorful specimen at the Smith Oaks Rookery in High Island, Texas, on April 20, 2014. Photo taken with the Nikon D3X and the 200-400mm Nikkor f4 zoom at about 300mm, handheld.
