Australasian Swamphen: how to recognise it
A bird of Asia and Oceania. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Stephen Cox · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Porphyrio melanotus
- Family
- Rails, Gallinules, and Coots
- Size
- About 48 cm
- Habitat
- Reedbeds, swamps and wet fields
- Found in
- Asia and Oceania
The key marks
A big, bright purple-blue rail with a large red bill and frontal shield, long red legs and a white patch under the tail. Dusky Moorhen is dark grey-black with a smaller red-and-yellow bill and yellowish-green legs.
Voice
Loud screeches and harsh, booming notes.
Good to know
It flicks its tail, showing the white undertail, and its long toes let it walk over floating plants.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Dusky Moorhen. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in reedbeds, swamps and wet fields. It is especially common in New Zealand and Australia. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.