Gallinules in the waters of KSC-Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge

[KSC-99PP-0660]

  • Photo Number: KSC-99PP-0660

  • Release Date: 25-May-1999

    • Description: A mother gallinule (right) calls her two chicks to enter the algae-covered water in the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge, which shares a boundary with Kennedy Space Center. Gallinules, called Moorhens in the Old World, are duck-like swimming birds that constantly bob their heads while moving. They are identified by the prominent red bill with yellow tip and red frontal shield as well as white feathers under the tail, as shown here on the mother. Gallinules range throughout the Americas, from southern Canada to southern South America, inhabiting freshwater marshes and ponds with cattails and other aquatic vegetation. The 92,000-acre wildlife refuge is a habitat for more than 310 species of birds, 25 mammals, 117 fishes and 65 amphibians and reptiles. The marshes and open water of the refuge provide wintering areas for 23 species of migratory waterfowl, as well as a year-round home for great blue herons, great egrets, wood storks, cormorants, brown pelicans and other species of marsh and shore birds.

    Resolution Format Width
    (Pixels)    		 Height
    (Pixels)    		 Size
    (Bytes)
    Thumbnail GIF 100 68 10373
    Slide GIF 172 149 36929
    Low GIF 320 217 98963
    Medium JPEG 1024 694 250169
    High JPEG 2617 1773 4126252

    Point of Contact

    Name: NASA Kennedy Space Center

    Address:

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John F. Kennedy Space Center
Kennedy Space Center, Florida 32899

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    Photos By: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
    Scanned By: NASA/KSC Public Affairs Office
    Captions: Information Dynamics, Inc.
    Curator: NASA/KSC Internet Systems Lab (Dumoulin, Downs, Paladino)
    Last Updated: Thursday September 02 21:00:04 EDT 1999 (Anita Barrett)

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