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Birds found in Europe are overall purple-blue, African and south Asian birds have a green back, and Australasian and Indonesian birds have black backs and heads. The Philippines subspecies is pale blue with a brown back. It has large feet, bright plumage, a red bill and frontal shield. | Birds found in Europe are overall purple-blue, African and south Asian birds have a green back, and Australasian and Indonesian birds have black backs and heads. The Philippines subspecies is pale blue with a brown back. It has large feet, bright plumage, a red bill and frontal shield. | ||
==Distribution== | ==Distribution== | ||
| − | [[New Zealand]], [[Europe]], [[Africa]], [[ | + | [[New Zealand]], [[Europe]], [[Africa]], South [[Asia]] |
==Taxonomy== | ==Taxonomy== | ||
Revision as of 00:50, 15 October 2007
- Porphyrio porphyrio
Identification
Also known as the African Purple Swamphen or Purple Moorhen or Purple Gallinule.
Birds found in Europe are overall purple-blue, African and south Asian birds have a green back, and Australasian and Indonesian birds have black backs and heads. The Philippines subspecies is pale blue with a brown back. It has large feet, bright plumage, a red bill and frontal shield.
Distribution
New Zealand, Europe, Africa, South Asia
Taxonomy
There are six or more subspecies of the Purple Swamphen, depending on the authority, which differ mainly in the plumage colours. The races are:
P. p. porphyrio in Europe P. p. madagascariensis in Africa P. p. poliocephalus in tropical Asia P. p. melanotus in much of Australasia P. p. indicus in Indonesia P. p. pulverulentis in the Philippines.
Habitat
Reed beds and wet areas with high rainfall, swamps, lake edges and damp pastures.
Behaviour
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.
The birds live in pairs and larger communities.
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.
