Definition of "purple gallinule" []

• A colorful gallinule (Porphyrula martinica) of South America and the southeast United States, having a purple head, neck, and underpart, a greenish-bronze back, yellow legs, and yellow-tipped red bill. (noun)
• A related Old World gallinule (Porphyrio porphyrio) having dark, bluish-purple plumage and red legs. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.