GALLINULE

[gal.li.nule] n [NL Gallinula, genus of birds, fr. L, pullet, dim. of gallina] (1776): any of several aquatic birds of the rail family with long thin feet and a platelike frontal area on the head; esp: one (Gallinula chloropus) widespread in the New World, Eurasia, and Africa that has a largely red bill, red frontal area on the head, and a white band on the flanks