CreatureData

Common gallinule

Gallinula galeata (M. H. C. Lichtenstein, 1818)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The common gallinule (Gallinula galeata) is a species in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes. Recorded adults weigh 324.4 g to 377 g and live up to 12.8 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

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Quick facts about the common gallinule

Weight
324.4 g – 377 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
12.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
18.6 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
20 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
7src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
12 monthssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
2src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the common gallinule live?

Not recorded

What is the common gallinule?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The common gallinule (Gallinula galeata) is a bird in the family Rallidae. It was split from the common moorhen by the American Ornithologists' Union in July 2011. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands in the Americas. The common gallinule is one of the most conspicuous rail species in North America, along with the American coot.

From the Wikipedia article “Common gallinule” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_gallinule&oldid=1380659642), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the common gallinule endangered?

The common gallinule is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.

How is the common gallinule classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGruiformes
  5. familyRallidae
  6. genusGallinula
  7. SpeciesGallinula galeata (M. H. C. Lichtenstein, 1818)

Synonyms Crex galeata

Other names and names in other languages (57)
  • American common moorhenEnglish
  • American moorhenEnglish
  • Common moorhenEnglish
  • Florida gallinuleEnglish
  • Laughing gallinuleEnglish
  • Laughing moorhenEnglish
  • Water chickenEnglish
  • دجاج الماء الشائعArabic
  • polla d'aigua americanaCatalan
  • slípka americkáCzech
  • Florida rørhøneDanish
  • Amerikansk RørhøneDanish
  • AmerikateichhuhnGerman
  • Amerikanisches TeichhuhnGerman
  • Αμερικανική ΝερόκοταGreek
  • amerika galinoloEsperanto
  • Polla grisSpanish
  • Gallareta comúnSpanish
  • Gallareta FrentirrojaSpanish
  • Gallareta pico rojoSpanish
  • Gallineta americanaSpanish
  • Gallineta Frente RojaSpanish
  • Polla de aguaSpanish
  • Polla de Agua ComúnSpanish
  • Pollona negraSpanish
  • Tagüita del norteSpanish
  • Tingua de pico rojoSpanish
  • Ameerika taitEstonian
  • amerikanliejukanaFinnish
  • Gallinule d'AmériqueFrench
  • Gallinule d’AmériqueFrench
  • Cearc uisce MeiriceánachIrish
  • ÑahanaGuarani
  • 'Alae 'ulaHawaiian
  • ‘Alae ‘UlaHawaiian
  • američka mlakušaCroatian
  • Gallinella americanaItalian
  • アメリカバンJapanese
  • 아메리카쇠물닭Korean
  • Amerikaans WaterhoenDutch
  • amerikasivhøneNorwegian
  • Gaitu Pik KòráPapiamento
  • Gaito Pico CòráPapiamento
  • kokoszka amerykańskaPolish
  • galinha-d'águaPortuguese
  • Frango-d'água comumPortuguese
  • galinha-d'água-americanaPortuguese
  • galinha-de-água-americanaPortuguese
  • Американская камышницаRussian
  • sliepočka nahanaSlovak
  • Američka barska kokicaSerbian
  • amerikansk rörhönaSwedish
  • Amerika SutavuğuTurkish
  • курочка латиноамериканськаUkrainian
  • 黑水鸡Chinese
  • 普通水雞Chinese
  • 美洲黑水鸡Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the common gallinule

Other species in the same genus Gallinula.

VU, Vulnerable

Gough moorhen

Gallinula comeri

RallidaeNo free photo yet

CompareCommon gallinule vs Common moorhenCommon gallinule vs Dusky moorhenCommon gallinule vs Samoan moorhenCommon gallinule vs Tristan moorhen

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the common gallinule?

An adult common gallinule weighs 324.4 g – 377 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the common gallinule endangered?

The common gallinule is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the common gallinule live?

The common gallinule has a recorded lifespan of 12.8 years.

What kind of animal is the common gallinule?

The common gallinule (Gallinula galeata) belongs to the family Rallidae in the order Gruiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Common gallinule (Gallinula galeata). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-gallinule

MLA

“Common gallinule (Gallinula galeata).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-gallinule.

BibTeX
@misc{common_gallinule_2026,
  title = {Common gallinule (Gallinula galeata)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-gallinule},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}