Purple Swamphen
Porphyrio porphyrio
紫水鸡
Distribution & Habitat
The former Purple Swamphen species complex has been divided into six distinct species with separate geographic ranges. The Western swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) occupies southwest Europe and northwest Africa. The African swamphen (Porphyrio madagascariensis) is found across sub-Saharan continental Africa and Madagascar. The Grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus) ranges from the Middle East through the Indian subcontinent to southern China and northern Thailand. The Black-backed swamphen (Porphyrio indicus) occurs in southeast Asia extending to Sulawesi. The Philippine swamphen (Porphyrio pulverulentus) is endemic to the Philippine archipelago. The Australasian swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus) inhabits Australia, New Zealand, and the broader Oceania region.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Porphyrio
- eBird Code
- purswa
Vocalizations
Subspecies (12)
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Porphyrio porphyrio bellus
southwestern Australia
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Porphyrio porphyrio indicus
Sumatra, Java, Bali, Borneo, and southwestern Sulawesi
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Porphyrio porphyrio madagascariensis
Egypt, sub-Saharan Africa, and Madagascar
-
Porphyrio porphyrio melanopterus
northern Sulawesi, Moluccas and Lesser Sundas to New Guinea, including Aru Islands (off southwestern New Guinea)
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Porphyrio porphyrio melanotus
northern and eastern Australia including Tasmania, Lord Howe and Norfolk islands (east of Australia; recently established), and New Zealand including North and South, Kermadec (northeast of New Zealand), and Chatham islands (east of New Zealand)
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Porphyrio porphyrio pelewensis
Palau (Koror and Anguar)
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Porphyrio porphyrio poliocephalus
India to Sri Lanka, southern China, northern Thailand, and the Andaman and Nicobar islands; an introduced population in Florida (USA) apparently is this subspecies
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Porphyrio porphyrio porphyrio
Iberian Peninsula and northwestern Africa (Morocco to Tunisia)
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Porphyrio porphyrio pulverulentus
Karekelong Island (Talaud Islands) and Philippines
-
Porphyrio porphyrio samoensis
Admiralty Islands (western Bismarck Archipelago) to New Caledonia, Solomon Islands, Fiji, and Samoa
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Porphyrio porphyrio seistanicus
southeastern Türkiye to Iraq and southwestern Iran eastward to southwestern Afghanistan and Baluchistan (southwestern Pakistan)
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Porphyrio porphyrio viridis
southern Myanmar to southern Thailand, southern China, Malay Peninsula, and Indochina
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.