BirdUp · Species
Western Swamphen
Porphyrio porphyrio(Linnaeus, 1758)
Updated
At a glance
The Western Swamphen is a large bird, about 44–48 cm long, listed as Least Concern and native to Australia. It can be seen year-round.
- Size
- 44–48 cm
- Conservation status
- Least Concern
- Origin
- Native
- Best seen
- Year-round
- Commonness
- Very common
01 · Identification
How to tell it apart
What does a Western Swamphen look like?
The Western Swamphen is a large bird, about 44–48 cm long and weighing 480–1310 g.
The western swamphen is a species of swamphen in the rail family Rallidae, one of the six species of purple swamphen. This chicken-sized bird, with its large feet, bright plumage and red bill and frontal shield is easily recognisable in its native range. It used to be considered the nominate subspecies of the purple swamphen, but is now recognised as a separate species. The western swamphen is found in wetlands in Spain, Portugal, southeastern France, Italy and northwestern Africa.
Description · wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
03 · When
When to look
When can you see a Western Swamphen?
The Western Swamphen is present across its Australian range year-round, so it can be seen in any month.
- Jan
- Feb
- Mar
- Apr
- May
- Jun
- Jul
- Aug
- Sep
- Oct
- Nov
- Dec
05 · Behaviour
Habits and haunts
What does a Western Swamphen eat?
The Western Swamphen feeds on seeds, foliage/herbs and corms/tubers, usually foraging in flocks or alone.
06 · Gallery
Plumage up close
6 photos
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