GALLINULE

noun Etymology: New Latin Gallinula, genus of birds, from Latin, pullet, diminutive of gallina Date: 1776 any of several aquatic birds of the rail family with long thin feet and a platelike frontal area on the head: as, moorhen , one ( Porphyrula martinica ) found from the southern United States to Argentina that is purplish blue with olive-green upperparts, a red and yellow bill, and a light blue frontal area