Australasian Swamphen
Porphyrio melanotus· 秧鸡科(2 photos)
Australasian Swamphen
44-48 cm. Large, conspicuous waterhen with robust scarlet bill and forehead shield, deep-blue head and breast; flicks tail, exposing snow-white undertail-coverts; long reddish legs. Race bellus (s. WA), neck/breast paler blue. Immature: duller; bill blackish red. Territorial groups to open companies on margins of wetlands, nearby paddocks; climbs, roosts in vegetation over water; constructs feeding platforms. Aggressive between groups: takes eggs/young, scavenges dead birds, fish.
- Other name
- Bald Coot; Eastern or Western Swamphen; Pukeko.
- Similar Species
- Dusky Moorhen: black with yellow-tipped scarlet bill and 'shield'.
- Voice
- high-pitched rasping screeches; nasal 'nerk's; cooings, unusual liquid thuds.
- Habitat
- margins of swamps, lakes; shallow rivers with dense rushes, reeds, cumbungi; familiar on town lakes; lawns, golf courses, sewage ponds, bore drains, airports.
- Breeding
- July-Dec., s. Aust; after rain, n. Aust.
- Nest
- bowl-shaped, in shallow platform of rushes and grass; often with open canopy of stems; on trampled-down reeds, water-ribbons, cumbungi.
- Eggs
- 3-5; sandy buff, blotched, spotted chestnut with underlying spots of grey. Groups nest cooperatively.
- Range & Status
- race melanotus: widespread in e. and coastal ne. Aust., from c. Cooktown (Q), s. to Eyre Pen. (SA); also Tas. and coastal islands; less common across coastal n. Aust. Extends far inland when conditions suitable; vagrant PNG. Race bellus: sw. WA. Sedentary; dispersive. Also Lord Howe and Norfolk Is.; NZ region;Melanesia, New Cal.; w. Polynesia; Indonesia, Eurasia, Africa.
- Distribution key to races
- 1. Porphyrio melanotus melanotus 2. Porphyrio melanotus bellus
