Purple Swamphens in North America
Encyclopedia
The Purple Swamphen
(Porphyrio porphyrio) is a bird
native to the Old World, which has been introduced into North America
.
in the late 1990s due to avicultural
escapes in the Pembroke Pines, Florida
area. The birds multiplied and can now be found in many areas of southern Florida
. Ornithological authorities consider it likely that the swamphen will become an established part of Florida's avifauna.
The Florida birds are mostly or entirely of the gray-headed race poliocephalus, native to the area around the Caspian Sea
.
The most common call from the Florida birds is a loud, high-pitched "creek," often doubled.
Purple Swamphen
The Purple Swamphen , also known as the African Purple Swamphen, Purple Moorhen, Purple Gallinule, Pūkeko 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...
(Porphyrio porphyrio) is a bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
native to the Old World, which has been introduced into North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
.
Florida
The Purple Swamphen was introduced to North AmericaNorth America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
in the late 1990s due to avicultural
Aviculture
Aviculture is the practice of keeping and breeding birds and the culture that forms around it. Aviculture is generally focused on not only the raising and breeding of birds, but also on preserving avian habitat, and public awareness campaigns....
escapes in the Pembroke Pines, Florida
Pembroke Pines, Florida
Pembroke Pines is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. The city had a population of 154,750 at the 2010 census, making it the second most populous city in Broward County, the tenth most populous in Florida, and the 150th most populous in the United States...
area. The birds multiplied and can now be found in many areas of southern Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. Ornithological authorities consider it likely that the swamphen will become an established part of Florida's avifauna.
The Florida birds are mostly or entirely of the gray-headed race poliocephalus, native to the area around the Caspian Sea
Caspian Sea
The Caspian Sea is the largest enclosed body of water on Earth by area, variously classed as the world's largest lake or a full-fledged sea. The sea has a surface area of and a volume of...
.
The most common call from the Florida birds is a loud, high-pitched "creek," often doubled.