Grey-headed Swamphen

Porphyrio poliocephalus (Latham, 1801)

≈47 cmLength774 gWeight

It is a large gray-blue-purple waterbird with a stout red bill and a pale gray head.

Busiest months: December–February · Most records: India, United States, Sri Lanka

How to identify

Field marks

Pale gray head
Stout red bill
Greenish wings
Red legs and feet

Where and when it's recorded

Grey-headed Swamphen has been recorded at 459 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 26 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

Green Cay Wetlands & Nature CenterUnited States7,772 records
Wakodahatchee WetlandsUnited States6,518 records
The Celery FieldsUnited States4,754 records

More places

Lake Apopka Wildlife DriveUnited States4,742 records
Changaram Wetlands – EzhupunnaIndia4,631 records
Saul Kere / Sowl KereIndia4,184 records
Bharatpur – Keoladeo Ghana NPIndia3,421 records
Harns MarshUnited States3,162 records
Hoskote / Hosakote KereIndia2,719 records
Krishnampathi Lake, SeeranaickenpalayamIndia2,656 records

Countries and regions with the most records

India United States Sri Lanka Thailand Kuwait Cambodia United Arab Emirates Vietnam

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

About

The grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus) is a species of swamphen occurring from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to southern China and northern Thailand. It used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen, but was elevated to full species status in 2015; today the purple swamphen is considered a superspecies and each of its six subspecies groups are designated full species.

Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia

Questions

How big is the Grey-headed Swamphen?

The Grey-headed Swamphen is about ≈47 cm long and weighs around 774 g.

Where does the Grey-headed Swamphen live?

Its breeding range: Palearctic, Oriental: Middle East and Indian subcontinent to southern China, northern Thailand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and southern Myanmar to central and southern Indochina to the Malay Peninsula. It is most often recorded in India, United States and Sri Lanka.

When is the best time to see the Grey-headed Swamphen?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, February and December (Northern Hemisphere).

What does the Grey-headed Swamphen eat?

Main food: Aquatic plants.

What family is the Grey-headed Swamphen in?

It belongs to the family Rails, Crakes & Coots (Rallidae), order Gruiformes.

At a glance

Length: ≈47 cm
Weight: 774 g
Habitat: Wetland
Diet: Aquatic plants
Lifestyle: Active on the ground
Migration: Resident (barely migrates)

More measurements

Wing: 235 mm
Tail: 86 mm
Bill: 56 mm
Tarsus: 80 mm

Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.

Range

Palearctic, Oriental: Middle East and Indian subcontinent to southern China, northern Thailand, Andaman and Nicobar Islands and southern Myanmar to central and southern Indochina to the Malay Peninsula

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Subspecies · 1