A very large bluish-purple gallinule with a red bill and forehead shield and red legs and feet with long toes. The tail is flicked up often, revealing fluffy white “underpants.” Juveniles are duller than adults and lack the red bill and shield. A common inhabitant of marshy, vegetated freshwater bodies such as swamps, rivers, and lakes; usually in small groups. Feeds, often clumsily, at muddy water edges, in reeds, and on floating vegetation. Makes short nasal grunts and croaking sounds.