(1) It's a takahe, an extraordinary, huge flightless gallinule long believed to be extinct until rediscovered in a remote mountain range 50 years ago.(2) In a familiar oxbow lake, there were gallinules and egrets, even a couple of brightly colored wood ducks and five blue-winged teal.(3) Gender-biased incubation patterns in the rails and gallinules are poorly known, but male nocturnal incubation has been documented in several species, including at least one that is not considered a joint layer.(4) Since 1975, I have found common gallinule during the nesting season near Lake Elmo, Washington County.(5) This close relative of the gallinules and moorhens lives on open water and is sometimes mistaken for a duck.
