The large size, massive red bill and frontal shield, red legs and toes, general purplush coloration and turkoise neck and breast, are unmistakable. Allen's gallinule is much smaller and daintier and has een green-blue (not red) frontal shield.
Juvenile is dull brown above and grey below, and has a massive, dull, reddish brown bill.
Reedbeds, sedge, marshes and flooded grassland.
A variety of harsh shrieks, wails and booming notes.