Purple Gallinule Sounds

Overview
ID info
Life History
Maps
Sounds

Calls
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Florida, February 18, 1952Recorded by Arthur A. Allen / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Florida, February 26, 1950Recorded by Peter Paul Kellogg / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Louisiana, May 26, 2019Recorded by Robert Dobbs / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Florida, May 09, 1996Recorded by Geoffrey A. Keller / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Florida, February 18, 1952Recorded by Arthur A. Allen / Macaulay Library
Calls
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Puntarenas, March 20, 1992Recorded by David L. Ross, Jr. / Macaulay Library

Sounds provided by Macaulay Library.
Listen to more sounds of this species from the ML archive.

Calls

Purple Gallinules, like other rails, have a remarkable repertoire of vocalizations, most of them rather loud henlike cackling, laughing, or clucking similar to Common Gallinule but usually higher in pitch. Reedy calls are heard from nesting birds: a tinny, hornlike chip, an abrupt gheek! that sounds like a Limpkin, and piu! recalling Smooth-billed Ani and apparently used by parents to call young birds. Lower, more guttural or muttering calls that sound like ka or kerr are also described.