Porphyrio
Porphyrio is the swamphen genus of birds in the rail family. It includes some smaller species which are usually called "purple gallinules", and which are sometimes separated as genus Porphyrula or united with the gallinules proper (or "moorhens") in Gallinula. There are two living species of swamphen, the majority of the group having gone extinct in the Holocene. As opposed to the Old World and especially Australasian swamphens, the 4 Porphyrio gallinules are distributed in warmer regions of Africa and the Americas, barely reaching into Asia and Europe.
Living species
- Purple Swamphen, Porphyrio porphyrio
- Takahē or South Island Takahē, Porphyrio hochstetteri
Sometimes placed in Porphyrula or Gallinula:
- Allen's Gallinule, Porphyrio alleni
- American Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio martinica
- Azure Gallinule, Porphyrio flavirostris
- African Purple Swamphen or African Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio madagascariensis
Extinct species
- Lord Howe Swamphen, Porphyrio albus (early 19th century)
- Réunion Swamphen or Oiseau bleu, Porphyrio coerulescens (18th century, hypothetical species)
- Marquesas Swamphen, Porphyrio paepae (prehistoric or c.1900)
- North Island Takahē or mōho, Porphyrio mantelli (prehistoric or 1890s)
- New Caledonian Swamphen, Porphyrio kukwiedei (prehistoric or more recent)
- Huahine Swamphen, Porphyrio mcnabi (prehistoric)
- Buka Swamphen, Porphyrio sp. (prehistoric)
- Giant Swamphen, Porphyrio sp. (prehistoric)
- New Ireland Swamphen, Porphyrio sp. (prehistoric)
- Norfolk Island Swamphen, Porphyrio sp. (prehistoric)
- Rota Swamphen, Porphyrio sp. (prehistoric)
- Mangaia Swamphen/Woodhen, ?Porphyrio sp. (prehistoric) - would belong into Porphyrula, Gallinula or Pareudiastes
Copyright: Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from Wikipedia.org
Relevant Web Resources: Swamphen Photos (Birding Forum) ... Native Birds of Herring Island Park (Info on Eastern Swamphen - Porphyrio Melanotus)
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