Encyclopedia
This article is about the (American) Purple Gallinule, (Porphyrio martinica). For information on the Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio porphyrio), see Purple Swamphen
Purple Swamphen
The Purple Swamphen , also known as the African Purple Swamphen, Purple Moorhen, Purple Gallinule or Purple Coot, is a large bird in the family Rallidae . From its name in French, talève sultane, it is also known as the Sultana Bird. It should not be confused with the American Purple Gallinule,...
.
The American Purple Gallinule (Porphyrio martinica) is a "swamp hen" in the rail family Rallidae.
This medium-sized rail is unmistakable, with its huge yellow feet, purple-blue plumage
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates. They are among the outstanding characteristics that distinguish the extant Aves from other living groups....
with a green back, and red and yellow bill. It has a pale blue forehead shield and white undertail.
Young birds are brown rather than purple. These gallinules will fly short distances with dangling legs.
Their breeding habitat is warm swamps and marshes in southeastern states of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and the tropical regions of Central America
Central America
Managua
Guatemala City
San Salvador
San Pedro Sula
Panama City
San José, Costa Rica
Santa Ana, El Salvador
León
San Miguel|-|}...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a region consisting of the Caribbean Sea, its islands , and the surrounding coasts...
and northern South America
South America
South America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
. This species is resident in southern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
and the tropics, but most American birds are migratory
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. These however are usually irregular or in only one direction and are termed variously as nomadism, invasions,...
, wintering south to Argentina
Argentina
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
.
The nest is a floating structure in a marsh. Five to ten egg
Egg (biology)
In most birds and reptiles, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum. To enable incubation the egg is usually kept within a favourable temperature range as it nourishes and protects the growing embryo. When the embryo is adequately developed it breaks out of the egg in the...
s are laid. Their coloration is buff with brown spots.
The diet of these rails is omnivorous, being known to include a wide variety of plant and animal matter, including seed
Seed
A seed , referred to as a kernel in some plants, is a small embryonic plant enclosed in a covering called the seed coat, usually with some stored food. It is the product of the ripened ovule of gymnosperm and angiosperm plants which occurs after fertilization and some growth within the mother plant...
s, leaves and fruit
Fruit
The term fruit has different meanings dependent on context, and the term is not synonymous in food preparation and biology. Fruits are the means by which flowering plants disseminate seeds, and the presence of seeds indicates that a structure is most likely a fruit, though not all seeds come from...
s of both aquatic and terrestrial plants, as well as insect
Insect
Insects are arthropods, having a hard exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet and include more than a million species that are already described. Insects represent more than half of all...
s, frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by long hind legs, a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, snail
Snail
The word snail is a common name for almost all members of the molluscan class Gastropoda that have coiled shells in the adult stage. When the word snail is used in a general sense, it includes sea snails, land snails and freshwater snails. Snails lacking a shell or having only a very small one are...
s, spider
Spider
Spiders are air-breathing chelicerate arthropods that have eight legs, and chelicerae modified into fangs that inject venom. They are the largest order of arachnids and rank seventh in total species diversity among all other groups of organisms...
s, earthworm
Earthworm
Earthworm is the common name for the largest members of Oligochaeta in the phylum Annelida. In classical systems they were placed in the order Opisthopora, on the basis of the male pores opening posterior to the female pores, even though the internal male segments are anterior to the female...
s and fish
Fish
A fish is any aquatic vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scales, and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins...
. It has also been known to eat the eggs and young of other birds.
This species is a very rare vagrant to western Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
. There is a similar species in southern Europe, the Purple Swamphen
Purple Swamphen
The Purple Swamphen , also known as the African Purple Swamphen, Purple Moorhen, Purple Gallinule or Purple Coot, is a large bird in the family Rallidae . From its name in French, talève sultane, it is also known as the Sultana Bird. It should not be confused with the American Purple Gallinule,...
, Porphyrio porphyrio, but that bird is much larger.
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