Swamphen

Purple Gallinule ( Porphyrio porphyro )

The Purple Chickens ( Porphyrio ) are a genus of rails, in which there are several flightless island species.

Description

The size varies from 33 cm at the Purple Gallinule and 63 cm for the Südinseltakahe, which is about the size of a goose with an average of 2.650 kg weight and the largest surviving Rail in the world.

Purple Chickens are rails, the color black, brown and a metallic green, blue or purple can contain. Most back and wings are colored differently than the belly. Only the Lord Howe Purpurhuhn was white or white with blue approach.

Way of life

Most species live in wetlands and feed on marsh plants and / or insects.

Reproduction

Apart from the two parents also participate often adolescent cubs of the previous year in brood care. In P. porphyro it also happens that several egg-laying females are involved in a scrim. At low population density, only the parents are usually involved in the breeding, with a high population density increases the size of the group, since the animals in a group together to defend a territory and thus better able to keep larger areas. In addition, all adult birds participate in the feeding of young animals.

The chicks have black dunes and contribute to the wings finger claws. The young are precocial and are first fed exclusively on insects. Later will be added gradually plant food.

Species

  • Purple Gallinule ( Porphyrio porphyro ); occur in tropical and subtropical Eurasia, Africa and Australia. It is the namesake and most widespread species of the genus.

Of this kind also almost all flightless island species have split off. The only surviving member of this is the Südinseltakahe.

  • North Island Takahe ( Porphyrio mantelli )
  • Südinseltakahe ( Porphyrio hochstetteri )

The two Takahes lived / live in contrast to the Ursprungsart not in wetlands, but in the high mountains and fed / feed exclusively vegetable.

  • Lord Howe Purple Gallinule ( Porphyrio albus); the Lord Howe purple chicken is completely white.
  • Reunion Purple Gallinule ( Porphyrio coerulescens ); The species was endemic to Réunion and was referred to by early mariners as " oiseau bleu". There is no consensus as to whether the bird was able to fly or not. The bird was easy to catch and was probably therefore eradicated around 1730. He lived in mountain forests.
  • New Caledonian Purple Gallinule ( Porphyrio kukwiedei ); The New Caledonian Purpurhuhn was a very large, flightless Purpurhuhnart.
  • Koau ( Porphyrio paepae ); The Koau lived until at least 1937 on Hiva -Oa. He was a smaller, probably flightless Purpurhuhnart whose remains were discovered in 1986-87 by Steadmann apart on the 3 km Islands Hiva Oa and Tahuata. The bones found probably date from the period between 1100-1200 AD. He had but little atrophied wings was possibly still airworthy. The type had probably survived until 1902 and was then painted by Paul Gauguin; a bird on the image Le Sorcier d' Hiva Oa ou le Marquisien à la cape rouge to be a Koau.
  • Porphyrio mcnabi is a small extinct Purpurhuhnart described after bone finds. It was named after Brian K. McNab, who conducted research on flightless birds. It is larger than P. and P. flavirostris all and less than the Purple Gallinule ( P. porphyro ) the two Takahes and P. kukwiedei. Whether that was airworthy or not, is not known, as no bones of the flight apparatus were present in the finds.

The remaining three species of the purple chickens were originally provided in a separate genus Sultan chicken ( Porphyrula ) and have each smaller area of ​​distribution as the Purple Gallinule ( P. porphyro ).

  • Purple Gallinule ( Porphyrio martinica ); Breeds in the United States and the Caribbean Islands
  • Azure Gallinule ( Porphyrio flavirostris ); Lives in the United States, Central and South America and the Caribbean Islands
  • African Gallinule, Bronze Gallinule ( Porphyrio alleni ); Breeds only in Africa

Purple Gallinule ( Porphyrio martinica )

Südinseltakahe with chicks ( Porphyrio hochstetteri )

Lord Howe Purple Gallinule ( Porphyrio albus) Illustration Sarah Stone, from Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales, 1790

Koau ( Porphyrio paepae ) on the painting by Paul Gauguin

Swell

  • Dave Crouchley: Takahe Recovery Plan ( Porphyrio [ Notornis ] mantelli ). Threatened Species Unit, Department of Conservation, Wellington, New Zealand. Jan. 1994. ISSN 1170-3806. ISBN 0-478-01465-1
  • Itis, Porphyrio Brisson, 1760 - Swamphens ( Mainly used )
  • SysTax - Porphyrio ( genus )
  • Taxonomocon - Taxon: Genus Porphyrio Brisson, 1760
  • Global Twitcher: Swamphens and Purple gallinules - Porphyrio
  • Porphyrio martinicus in the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN 2011 Posted by: .. BirdLife International, 2009, Accessed 17 November 2011
  • Porphyrio alleni in the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN 2011 Posted by: .. BirdLife International, 2009, Accessed 17 November 2011
  • Porphyrio flavirostris in the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN 2011 Posted by: . BirdLife International, 2009 Retrieved on November 17, 2011.
  • Porphyrio porphyro in the Red List of Threatened Species IUCN 2011 Posted by: . BirdLife International, 2009 Retrieved on November 17, 2011.
  • John L. Craig: Habitat variation in the social organization of a communal gallinule, the pukeko, Porphyrio porphyro melanotus. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology. Springer Berlin / Heidelberg. Volume 5, Number 4 / December 1979. DOI 10.1007/BF00292523
  • Laurie A. Hunter: The effects of helpers in cooperatively breeding purple gallinules. (via P. martinica ) Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology (1985 ) 18:147-153.
Pomponius Porphyrion Mathurin-Jacques Brisson Lord Howe Swamphen Huahine Swamphen Allen's Gallinule
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