Swamphens
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Swamphens
''Porphyrio'' is the swamphen or swamp hen bird genus 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''. The ''Porphyrio'' gallinules are distributed in the warmer regions of the world. The group probably originated in Africa in the Middle Miocene, before spreading across the world in waves from the Late Miocene to Pleistocene. The genus ''Porphyrio'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the western swamphen (''Porphyrio porphyrio'') as the type species. The genus name ''Porphyrio'' is the Latin name for "swamphen", meaning "purple". Species The genus contains ten extant species and two that have become extinct in historical times: Extant species * Purple swamphen complex ** Western swamphen, ''Porphyrio porphyrio'' ** African swamphen, ''Porphyrio madagascarien ...
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Lord Howe Swamphen
The white swamphen (''Porphyrio albus''), also known as the Lord Howe swamphen, Lord Howe gallinule or white gallinule, is an extinct species of Rallidae, rail which lived on Lord Howe Island, east of Australia. It was first encountered when the crews of British ships visited the island between 1788 and 1790, and all contemporary accounts and illustrations were produced during this time. Today, two skins exist: the holotype in the Natural History Museum of Vienna, and another in Liverpool's World Museum. Although historical confusion has existed about the provenance of the specimens and the classification and anatomy of the bird, it is now thought to have been a distinct species endemic to Lord Howe Island and most similar to the Australasian swamphen. Subfossil bones have also been discovered since. The white swamphen was long. Both known skins have mainly-white plumage, although the Liverpool specimen also has dispersed blue feathers. This is unlike other swamphens, but cont ...
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Réunion Swamphen
The Réunion swamphen (''Porphyrio caerulescens''), also known as the Réunion gallinule or ' (French for "blue bird"), is a hypothetical extinct species of rail that was endemic to the Mascarene island of Réunion. While only known from 17th- and 18th-century accounts by visitors to the island, it was scientifically named in 1848, based on the 1674 account by Sieur Dubois. A considerable literature was subsequently devoted to its possible affinities, with current researchers agreeing it was derived from the swamphen genus ''Porphyrio''. It has been considered mysterious and enigmatic due to the lack of any physical evidence of its existence. This bird was described as entirely blue in plumage with a red beak and legs. It was said to be the size of a Réunion ibis or chicken, which could mean in length, and it may have been similar to the takahe. While easily hunted, it was a fast runner and able to fly, though it did so reluctantly. It may have fed on plant matter and inv ...
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Pukeko
The Australasian swamphen (''Porphyrio melanotus'') is a species of swamphen (''Porphyrio'') occurring in eastern Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands), Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand, it is known as the pukeko (from the Māori ). The species used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen. Distribution The Australasian swamphen occurs in mainland Australia, eastern Indonesia, the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands, and in Papua New Guinea. It is also found on New Zealand's main islands and in the Chatham and Kermadec Islands. It has a small shield, black upperparts, and a purple throat and breast. ''P. p. pelewensis'' (Hartlaub & Finsch, 1872) from Palau, resembles ''melanotus'' but has greener upperparts and is smaller. ''P. p. melanopterus'' (Bonaparte, 1856) is found from the Lesser Sundas and Moluccas to New Guinea. It is as ''melanotus'' but smaller, more variable and less blue in the upperparts. ''P. p. bellus'' (Gould, 1820) f ...
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Australasian Swamphen
The Australasian swamphen (''Porphyrio melanotus'') is a species of swamphen (''Porphyrio'') occurring in eastern Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands), Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand, it is known as the pukeko (from the Māori ). The species used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen. Distribution The Australasian swamphen occurs in mainland Australia, eastern Indonesia, the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands, and in Papua New Guinea. It is also found on New Zealand's main islands and in the Chatham and Kermadec Islands. It has a small shield, black upperparts, and a purple throat and breast. ''P. p. pelewensis'' (Hartlaub & Finsch, 1872) from Palau, resembles ''melanotus'' but has greener upperparts and is smaller. ''P. p. melanopterus'' (Bonaparte, 1856) is found from the Lesser Sundas and Moluccas to New Guinea. It is as ''melanotus'' but smaller, more variable and less blue in the upperparts. ''P. p. bellus'' (Gould, 182 ...
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Western Swamphen
The western swamphen (known as Purple Swamphen) (''Porphyrio porphyrio'') is a swamphen in the rail family Rallidae, one of the six species of purple swamphen. From the French name ''talève sultane'', it is also known as the sultana bird. This chicken-sized bird, with its large feet, bright plumage and red bill and frontal shield is easily recognisable in its native range. It used to be considered the nominate subspecies of the purple swamphen, but is now recognised as a separate species. The western swamphen is found in wetlands in Spain (where the largest population lives), India, Portugal, southeastern France, Italy (Sardinia, and Sicily) and northwestern Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). Behaviour The species makes loud, quick, bleating and hooting calls which are hardly bird-like in tone. It is particularly noisy during the breeding season. Despite being clumsy in flight, it can fly long distances and is a good swimmer, especially for a bird without webbed feet. Bree ...
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Western Swamphen
The western swamphen (known as Purple Swamphen) (''Porphyrio porphyrio'') is a swamphen in the rail family Rallidae, one of the six species of purple swamphen. From the French name ''talève sultane'', it is also known as the sultana bird. This chicken-sized bird, with its large feet, bright plumage and red bill and frontal shield is easily recognisable in its native range. It used to be considered the nominate subspecies of the purple swamphen, but is now recognised as a separate species. The western swamphen is found in wetlands in Spain (where the largest population lives), India, Portugal, southeastern France, Italy (Sardinia, and Sicily) and northwestern Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia). Behaviour The species makes loud, quick, bleating and hooting calls which are hardly bird-like in tone. It is particularly noisy during the breeding season. Despite being clumsy in flight, it can fly long distances and is a good swimmer, especially for a bird without webbed feet. Bree ...
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Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, although the family is found in every terrestrial habitat except dry deserts, polar regions, and alpine areas above the snow line. Members of the Rallidae occur on every continent except Antarctica. Numerous island species are known. The most common rail habitats are marshland and dense forest. They are especially fond of dense vegetation.Horsfall & Robinson (2003): pp. 206–207 Name "Rail" is the anglicized respelling of the French ''râle'', from Old French ''rasle''. It is named from its harsh cry, in Vulgar Latin *''rascula'', from Latin ''rādere'' ("to scrape"). Morphology The rails are a family of small to medium-sized, ground-living birds. They vary in length from and in weight from . Some species have long necks and in many ca ...
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Porphyrio
''Porphyrio'' is the swamphen or swamp hen bird genus in the Rallidae, 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''. The ''Porphyrio'' gallinules are distributed in the warmer regions of the world. The group probably originated in Africa in the Middle Miocene, before spreading across the world in waves from the Late Miocene to Pleistocene. The genus ''Porphyrio'' was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the western swamphen (''Porphyrio porphyrio'') as the type species. The genus name ''Porphyrio'' is the Latin name for "swamphen", meaning "purple". Species The genus contains ten extant species and two that have become extinct in historical times: Extant species * Purple swamphen complex ** Western swamphen, ''Porphyrio porphyrio'' ** African swamphen, ''Porphyrio madag ...
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Purple Swamphen
The purple swamphen has been split into the following species: * Western swamphen, ''Porphyrio porphyrio'', southwest Europe and northwest Africa * African swamphen, ''Porphyrio madagascariensis'', sub-Saharan continental Africa and Madagascar * Grey-headed swamphen, ''Porphyrio poliocephalus'', Middle East, through the Indian subcontinent to southern China and northern Thailand * Black-backed swamphen, ''Porphyrio indicus'', southeast Asia to Sulawesi * Philippine swamphen, ''Porphyrio pulverulentus'', Philippine islands * Australasian swamphen The Australasian swamphen (''Porphyrio melanotus'') is a species of swamphen (''Porphyrio'') occurring in eastern Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands), Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand, it is known as the pu ..., ''Porphyrio melanotus'', Australia, New Zealand, and Oceania See also * Swamphen, the genus ''Porphyrio'' References {{Animal common name Birds by common name ...
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American Purple Gallinule
The purple gallinule (''Porphyrio martinicus'') is a swamphen in the genus ''Porphyrio''. It is in the order Gruiformes, meaning "crane-like", an order which also contains cranes, rails, and crakes. The purple gallinule is a rail (bird), rail species, placing it into the family Rallidae. It is also known locally as the yellow-legged gallinule. The specific name ''martinica'' denotes "of Martinique". Description The purple gallinule is a medium-sized rail, measuring in length, spanning across the wings and weighing . Males, averaging in mass, are slightly larger than females, at on average. An adult purple gallinule has purple-blue Feather, plumage that will shine green and turquoise when in good lighting. Adults also have a pale blue shield on their forehead, which connects with the red and yellow bill. Darkness or low light can dim the bright purple-blue plumage of the adult to make them look dusky or brownish, although the forehead shield color differentiates them from simi ...
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Azure Gallinule
The azure gallinule (''Porphyrio flavirostris'') is a species of bird in subfamily Rallinae of family Rallidae, the rails, gallinules, and coots. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.HBW and BirdLife International (2021) Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: http://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip retrieved August 7, 2022Remsen, J. V., Jr., J. I. Areta, E. Bonaccorso, S. Claramunt, A. Jaramillo, D. F. Lane, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, F. G. Stiles, and K. J. Zimmer. Version 24 July 2022. Species Lists of Birds for South American Countries and Territories. https://www.museum.lsu.edu/~Remsen/SACCCountryLists.htm retrieved July 24, 2022 Taxonomy and systematics The azure gallinule was formally described in 1789 by the Germ ...
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Middle Miocene
The Middle Miocene is a sub-epoch of the Miocene Epoch made up of two stages: the Langhian and Serravallian stages. The Middle Miocene is preceded by the Early Miocene. The sub-epoch lasted from 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma to 11.608 ± 0.005 Ma (million years ago). During this period, a sharp drop in global temperatures took place. This event is known as the Middle Miocene Climate Transition. For the purpose of establishing European Land Mammal Ages The European Land Mammal Mega Zones (abbreviation: ELMMZ, more commonly known as European land mammal ages or ELMA) are zones in rock layers that have a specific assemblage of fossils (biozones) based on occurrences of fossil assemblages of Europe ... this sub-epoch is equivalent to the Astaracian age. External links GeoWhen Database - Middle Miocene .02 02 * * {{geochronology-stub ...
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