This species is about the size of a small chicken, approximately 300 to 450 grams (11 to 16 oz). It has gone through three “official” name changes in my lifetime. It was called the Florida Gallinule when I was a kid. That made no sense as it has a huge range that included most of temperate eastern North America, the American southwest, Mexico and Central America, the West Indies and much of tropical and temperate South America, including the Galapagos. But then the name was changed to Common Moorhen, scientists having decided it was the same species as the widely distributed and nearly identical Eurasian species of that name. It didn’t inhabit moors and was not a hen, unless you apply the broader meaning of the word, meaning any female bird, in which case only about half the population would be hens. Ah, but then it was decided that the earlier designation was correct, it is a species distinct from the Eurasian birds, and in 2011 the “official” name was changed to the current Common Gallinule. Whatever it is, I find them to be utterly charming. They occur at Cranberry Marsh, Lynde Shores Conservation Area, Whitby, which is where, one August afternoon, I patiently drew the waterlily pads for the painting. The painting is approximately life size and shows an adult and immature bird.