Topic summary
Porphyrio
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Swamphen.
Porphyrio, also known as swamphens or swamp hens, is a genus of semi-aquaticbirds in the railfamilyRallidae. It includes some smaller species of gallinules which are sometimes separated as the genus Porphyrula or united with the gallinules proper (or "moorhens") in the genus 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 the Pleistocene.