American Purple Gallinule

American Purple Gallinule

Porphyrio martinica

Introduction

A relative of the Moorhen, this brightly coloured rail from North America has been recorded a handful of times in Britain. It is known for its vagrancy, with individuals recorded from South Georgia and the Galápagos to central Europe.

Key Stats

Status
Very rare
Very rare
Weight
Weight
242.5g
Seasonality
Seasonality
BTO Records
BTO Records
4 records
Population and distribution stats for:
Population Change
Population Change
No data
Population Size
Population Size
No current data
Distribution Change
Distribution_change
No current data
Population Change
Population Change
No data
Population Size
Population Size
No current data
Distribution Change
Distribution_change
No current data

Movement

Information about American Purple Gallinule movements and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

Britain & Ireland movement

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

European movements

EuroBirdPortal uses birdwatcher's records, such as those logged in BirdTrack to map the flows of birds as they arrive and depart Europe. See maps for this species here.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information for American Purple Gallinule, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

Survival and Longevity

Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.

Classification, names and codes

Taxonomy, names and species codes for American Purple Gallinule

Classification and Codes

  • Order: Gruiformes
  • Family: Rallidae
  • Scientific name: Porphyrio martinica
  • Authority: Linnaeus, 1766
  • BTO 5-letter code: AMPGA
  • Euring code number: 4260

Alternate species names

  • Catalan: polla blava americana
  • Czech: slípka žlutonohá
  • Danish: Amerikansk Sultanhøne
  • Dutch: Amerikaans Purperhoen
  • Estonian: koldjalg-sultantait
  • Finnish: siniliejukana
  • French: Talève violacée
  • German: Zwergsultanshuhn
  • Hungarian: amerikai szultántyúk
  • Icelandic: Flóðhæna
  • Italian: Pollo sultano della Martinica
  • Latvian: Amerikas sultanvistina
  • Lithuanian: amerikine sultonvište
  • Norwegian: Amerikapurpurhøne
  • Polish: sultanka amerykanska
  • Portuguese: frango-d'água-azul
  • Slovak: sultánka indigová
  • Slovenian: ameriška sultanka
  • Spanish: Calamoncillo americano
  • Swedish: amerikansk sultanhöna

More Evidence

More evidence from Conservation Evidence.com

Partners

Birdfacts is based on data collected by volunteers participating in surveys that are organised and funded by BTO, RSPB, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, JNCC and other partners.

Citing BirdFacts

If you wish to cite particular content in this page (e.g. a specific value) it is best to use the original sources as linked in the page. For a more general citation of the whole page please use: BTO (20XX) BirdFacts Species: profiles of birds occurring in the United Kingdom. BTO, Thetford (www.bto.org/birdfacts, accessed on xx/xx/xxxx).

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