Swamphens and Blue Gallinules
Porphyrio
Porphyrio, also known as swamphens or swamp hens, is a genus of semi-aquatic birds in the rail family Rallidae. 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.
The genus Porphyrio was introduced by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the western swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) as the type species. The genus name Porphyrio is the Latin name for "swamphen".
18 branches of this genus, most-observed first · about 10 known species
Australasian Swamphen
speciesPorphyrio melanotus
Purple Gallinule
speciesPorphyrio martinica
Gray-headed Swamphen
speciesPorphyrio poliocephalus
Western Swamphen
speciesPorphyrio porphyrio
South Island Takahē
speciesPorphyrio hochstetteri
African Swamphen
speciesPorphyrio madagascariensis
Allen's Gallinule
speciesPorphyrio alleni
Azure Gallinule
speciesPorphyrio flavirostris
Black-backed Swamphen
speciesPorphyrio indicus
Philippine Swamphen
speciesPorphyrio pulverulentus
Huahine Swamphen
speciesPorphyrio mcnabi
Marquesan Swamphen
speciesPorphyrio paepae
New Caledonian Gallinule
speciesPorphyrio kukwiedei
Lord Howe Swamphen
speciesPorphyrio albus
Réunion Swamphen
speciesPorphyrio caerulescens
Porphyrio madagascariensis × poliocephalus
hybridPorphyrio madagascariensis × poliocephalus
Porphyrio indicus × poliocephalus
hybridPorphyrio indicus × poliocephalus
North Island Takahē
speciesPorphyrio mantelli
Where it lives
Recorded sightings
—
geo-referenced records in GBIF, from museums, herbaria and field observers.
Drag the globe to turn it. Dots are where records exist, not a range map; darker means more records.
In the old herbals & bestiaries
History of Animals, Book I: On Viviparous Quadrupeds
Conrad Gessner · 1554 · p.962
Historiae Animalium Liber III: De Avium Natura
Conrad Gesner · 1555 · p.817
Theater of Earthly Creatures
Anonymous · 1672 · p.212
Introductory Book
Michael Scot · 1350 · p.210
Garden of Health (Hortus Sanitatis)
Jacob Meydenbach · 1491 · p.597
Garden of Health
1507 · p.539
In the stacks
Searching the stacks…
Every page naming Porphyrio in the Biodiversity Heritage Library →
This page is assembled live from iNaturalist, GBIF, Wikipedia, the Source Library and the Internet Archive. It is not yet part of the hand-edited codex. iNaturalist taxon 502.