Pretty Bird, Pretty Bird

I thought you might like to see the bird I spotted Saturday. He was up in Lakeland at Lake Hollingsworth. I know that probably doesn't mean anything to most of you, but some of you will appreciate it. What is it? Well, I thought it was an ordinary moorhen, but once it got closer, I was rather shocked by the coloration. This is a purple gallinule. They have to be in just the right light to get all that color, though. In the shade, they're just plain old ordinary black, although they do still have stat light purple spot on their heads. There were plenty of these at the lake, although I don't know how common they are in other areas. This one was looking for a handout, which he would carry back to 4 babies he (or she) was taking care of. Not the most ecologically sound method of child rearing, but it seemed to be working.