Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica)

Abundance: Rare (3 records in 2 Tennessee counties).

Status: Summer Resident; probably also a Transient; sight records.

Regional High Count: 2 (30 July 1952; 17 km northeast of McMinnville, Warren County, Tennessee; Albert F. Ganier; Ganier 1952).

Information on Records: 

17 May 1936 (1) Near Morrison, Warren County, Tennessee (Albert F. Ganier; Ganier 1952).

30 July 1952 (pair near empty nest) 17 km northeast of McMinnville, Warren County, Tennessee (Albert F. Ganier; Ganier 1952). 

18 & 20 May 1990 (1 adult) Pond in southeast corner of the intersection of Rts. 111 and 70N, Cookeville, Putnam County, Tennessee (Stephen J. Stedman; Stedman 1993).

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: No registrations.

Breeding: Confirmed (Historical). No eggs or young were found by Ganier (1952) during his visit to Warren County, but he did find a structure that he identified as a used nest of this species, and two adult birds were present in the vicinity of the used nest.

Habitat: Marshes and ponds with emergent vegetation.

Remarks: 

Counties with Observations (boldfaced); county with historical breeding in bold red:

To see a map (Figure 1) displaying the data in the table above, click on the bold-faced word in this sentence.

Literature Cited