Purple Swamphen

• GeneralRecovered in Spain after coming close to disappearing; it holds stems in one foot to eat, like a hand.
• Its recovery in Spain in the late 1980s is one of the great success stories of Iberian wetland conservation.
• The genus Porphyrio simply means "swamphen" in Latin, from the Greek porphurion, which in turn comes from the colour purple.
• The Spanish population is the largest anywhere in its world range.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat and environment

Reedbeds, marshes and well-vegetated lagoons

Sexual maturity

3 years

Litter / clutch size

It nests among reedbeds near water. The breeding season coincides with the peak of the rains, or with summer in temperate climates. The males perform an elaborate courtship holding aquatic plants in their bills

Sources consulted: IUCN Red List; SEO/BirdLife (ficha y III Atlas: Sánchez-Lafuente 2022); Sánchez-Lafuente 2017; Sangster 1998, Dutch Birding 20; García-R y Trewick 2015; Linnaeus 1758; Brisson 1760

Best time: All year round in the wetlands of the south-western quarter of the peninsula