A worldwide community photographing and learning about wildlife
Project Noah Nature School
Porphyrio porphyrio var. melanotus
This chicken-sized bird, with its huge feet, bright plumage and red bill and frontal shield is unmistakable in its native range
Goulds Lagoon, which is a waterbird reserve in the middle of suburban housing.
The same sub-species as the New Zealand pukeko.
Spotted on Jul 25, 2007
Submitted on Jun 15, 2011
4 Comments
i got a photo of one here in South Central Montana of a Sora ~ hard to get pix of them... i'll post later. it's also in the Rail family ~ Porzana carolina, kewl but illusive
I spotted one too:
http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/660...
It's amazing, Alice, how many different variations there are or purple swamp hens, and just how widely scattered they are.
We had a similar Gallinule species develop here that is duller feathered and more widespread, and largely fills the island's land-bird niche. It's unimaginatively called the Tasmanian native hen: http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/273...
Much like ours in Florida, though ours may be a little smaller in size overall.