This colorful bird is often seen walking on lily pads, supporting its weight on its very long toes, and may even sometimes be seen climbing up into low bushes in search of food. When walking or swimming, it constantly jerks its head and tail. Its flight is slow and weak, but this has not prevented individual birds from traveling far out of their normal range. They have turned up in California, southern Canada, Bermuda, and even South Africa.

description 11-13" (28-33 cm). A strikingly colored, chicken-sized marsh bird. Purplish blue with green upperparts, white undertail coverts, yellowish-green legs, red-and-yellow bill, and light blue frontal shield. Immature buffy-brown, with greenish wings and dark bill.

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