Guardian Nature School Team Contact Blog Project Noah Facebook Project Noah Twitter

A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife

Join Project Noah!
nature school apple icon

Project Noah Nature School visit nature school

Purple swamphen

Porphyrio porphyrio

Description:

Recalls an outsized moorhen in outline but colours are striking. Adult has violet-blue plumage with blue face and red eyes, legs and bill. Undertail is white and exposed as bird nervously flicks its tail.

Habitat:

Favours brackish water with standing water, reedbeds and freshwater marshes. Feeds on underwater stems of waterplants.

Notes:

A rare species in the region, only found in small populations in S Iberian Peninsula, Mallorca, Sardinia and Turkey. This one was spotted in the Rio Formosa Natural Par, in a reedy lake.

Species ID Suggestions



Sign in to suggest organism ID

No Comments

Dangermouse
Spotted by
Dangermouse

Algarve, Portugal

Spotted on Jul 15, 2012
Submitted on Jul 22, 2012

Related Spottings

Purple Swamphen Purple Moorhen Calamón Porphyrio porphyrio Vs. Sterna hirundo

Nearby Spottings

Glossy ibis Black-headed weaver Spotting Zitting cisticola

Reference

Noah Guardians
Noah Sponsors
join Project Noah Team

Join the Project Noah Team