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| + | '''Alternative names: Purple Gallinule<sup>[[#References|1]]</sup>; Purple Moorhen''' | ||
[[Image:Purple_Swamphen.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by {{user|Neil|Neil}}<br />Sydney, [[Australia]]]] | [[Image:Purple_Swamphen.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by {{user|Neil|Neil}}<br />Sydney, [[Australia]]]] | ||
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;[[:Category:Porphyrio|Porphyrio]] porphyrio | ;[[:Category:Porphyrio|Porphyrio]] porphyrio | ||
'''Includes African Purple Swamphen''' | '''Includes African Purple Swamphen''' | ||
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Locally in [[Africa]], southern [[Eurasia]], [[Australasia]] and southwestern [[Oceania]] | Locally in [[Africa]], southern [[Eurasia]], [[Australasia]] and southwestern [[Oceania]] | ||
==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
| − | ====Subspecies<sup>[[#References|2]]</sup> | + | ====Subspecies==== |
| + | There are 13 subspecies<sup>[[#References|2]]</sup>: | ||
*''P. p. porphyrio'' - Iberian Peninsula and nw Africa | *''P. p. porphyrio'' - Iberian Peninsula and nw Africa | ||
*''P. p. madagascariensis'' - "African Purple Swamphen"; Egypt, Africa south of the Sahara and Madagascar | *''P. p. madagascariensis'' - "African Purple Swamphen"; Egypt, Africa south of the Sahara and Madagascar | ||
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==References== | ==References== | ||
# Not to be confused with [[Purple Gallinule]], ''Porphyrio martinica''. | # Not to be confused with [[Purple Gallinule]], ''Porphyrio martinica''. | ||
| − | #{{Ref- | + | #{{Ref-Clements6thAug14}}# Trewick, S.A. 1997. "Flightlessness and phylogeny amongst endemic rails (Aves: Rallidae) of the New Zealand region." ''Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.'' (352) 429-46. |
# Sangster, G. 1998. "Purple Swamp-hen is a complex of species." ''Dutch Birding'' (20) 13-22. | # Sangster, G. 1998. "Purple Swamp-hen is a complex of species." ''Dutch Birding'' (20) 13-22. | ||
#Wikipedia | #Wikipedia | ||
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==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
{{GSearch|Porphyrio+swamphen}} | {{GSearch|Porphyrio+swamphen}} | ||
| + | <br /> | ||
| + | {{Video|Purple_Swamphen}} | ||
| − | [[Category:Birds]][[Category:Porphyrio]] | + | [[Category:Birds]][[Category:Porphyrio]] [[Category:Videos]] |
Revision as of 00:04, 10 April 2015
Alternative names: Purple Gallinule1; Purple Moorhen
- Porphyrio porphyrio
Includes African Purple Swamphen
Identification
- Red bill and frontal shield
- Large feet
Europe: purple-blue plumage
Africa and south Asia: green back
Australasia and Indonesia: black backs and heads
The Philippines subspecies: pale blue with a brown back
Distribution
Locally in Africa, southern Eurasia, Australasia and southwestern Oceania
Taxonomy
Subspecies
There are 13 subspecies2:
- P. p. porphyrio - Iberian Peninsula and nw Africa
- P. p. madagascariensis - "African Purple Swamphen"; Egypt, Africa south of the Sahara and Madagascar
- P. p. caspius - Caspian Sea to north-western Iran and Turkey
- P. p. seistanicus - Iraq and southern Iran to Afghanistan, Pakistan and north-western India
- P. p. poliocephalus - India to Sri Lanka, southern China, northern Thailand, Andaman, Nicobar Islands.
- P. p. viridis - Southern Myanmar to southern Thailand, southern China, Malay Peninsula and Indochina
- P. p. indicus - Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo and Sulawesi
- P. p. pulverulentus - Karekelong Island (Talaud Islands) and Philippine Islands
- P. p. pelewensis - Palau Islands (Koror and Anguar)
- P. p. melanopterus - Moluccas and Lesser Sundas to Aru Islands and New Guinea
- P. p. bellus - Extreme south-western Australia
- P. p. melanotus - Northern and eastern Australia, Tasmania to New Zealand, Kermadec and Chatham Island
- P. p. samoensis - Admiralty Island to Samoa, New Caledonia, Solomon Islands and Fiji
Polyphyly and Paraphyly3,4
The Purple Swamphen is found to be paraphyletic with respect to P. mantelli Takahe. To retain monophyly, a six-way split has been proposed with groupings: porphyrio, madagascariensis, poliocephalus, indicus, pulverulentus, and melanotus.
Habitat
Reed beds and wet areas with high rainfall, swamps, lake edges and damp pastures.
Behaviour
The birds live in pairs and larger communities.
Breeding
The birds make a nest of woven reeds on floating debris or amongst reeds. More than one female will use the nest and they share incubating the eggs for 24 days. Each bird lays 3-6 speckled eggs and the nest can contain up to 12 eggs.
Diet
Diet includes tender shoots and vegetable-like matter, invertebrates (like snails), small fish, and eggs from nests and also eat ducklings. It is a good swimmer, especially for a bird without webbed feet.
References
- Not to be confused with Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio martinica.
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2014. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: Version 6.9., with updates to August 2014. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Trewick, S.A. 1997. "Flightlessness and phylogeny amongst endemic rails (Aves: Rallidae) of the New Zealand region." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences. (352) 429-46.
- Sangster, G. 1998. "Purple Swamp-hen is a complex of species." Dutch Birding (20) 13-22.
- Wikipedia
- Absolute Astronomy
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Purple Swamphen. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 24 April 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Purple_Swamphen
External Links
