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Purple Swamphen
Porphyrio porphyrio poliocephalus
13.0604, 80.2496
Field Notes
Description:
There are 13 or more subspecies of the Purple Swamphen (depending on the native ) which differ mainly in plumage colour.
The subspecies groups are:
P. p. porphyrio in the Mediterranean,
P. p. madagascariensis in Africa,
P. p. poliocephalus in tropical Asia,
P. p. melanotus in much of Australasia,
P. p. indicus in Indonesia and
P. p. pulverulentis in the Philippines.
This chicken-sized bird, with its huge feet, bright plumage and red bill and frontal shield .
Habitat:
The Purple Swamphen prefers wet areas with high rainfall, swamps, lake edges and damp pastures. The birds often live in pairs and larger communities.
Notes:
The species has a very loud explosive call described as a "raucous high-pitched screech, with a subdued musical tuk-tuk". It is particularly noisy during the breeding season. Despite being clumsy in flight it can fly long distances, and it is a good swimmer, especially for a bird without webbed feet.
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