African Swamphen
A species of Swamphens Scientific name : Porphyrio madagascariensis Genus : Swamphens
African Swamphen, A species of Swamphens
Botanical name: Porphyrio madagascariensis
Genus: Swamphens
Content
Description
Description
The African swamphen (Porphyrio madagascariensis) is a species of swamphen occurring in Egypt, Sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen, which it resembles, but with bronze green or green-blue back and scapulars. The African Swamphen is a mainly sedentary species that can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, including southern Africa, where it is sometimes locally common. It is found in northern and eastern Botswana, part of Namibia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and the coast of Mozambique. In South Africa it is absent from the Northern Cape and the interior of the Eastern Cape. It has occurred as a vagrant in Israel with a record from Eilat in October 2015. The African swamphen has a preference for freshwater or brackish ponds, slow flowing rivers, especially those flanked by reeds (Phragmites) and sedges, marshes, swamps, it also occurs on seasonally flooded wetlands. The population is believed to be decreasing due to local disturbance and loss of habitat although it is not considered to be threatened. 
Size
38 - 46 cm
Feeding Habits
African Swamphen is omnivorous, with a diet mainly consisting of plant material such as shoots, leaves, and seeds, but also eats molluscs, insects, and small vertebrates. African Swamphen forages mostly in wetlands and has adapted to a varied diet.
Habitat
A variety of wetlands, ponds, lakes, marshes, swamps, rivers, floodplains, seasonal and temporary wetlands, Nile River islands or habitats associated with dams or sewage farms, lakes within towns, extends into open habitats adjacent to wetlands
Dite type
Omnivorous
Scientific Classification
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