Allen's Gallinule
Porphyrio alleni
When seen in good light, shows spectacular purple-and-green coloration. In dull light, looks dark, but still shows red bill and feet, pale blue forehead shield, and white undertail. Juveniles are pale brown. Found in freshwater wetlands with thick vegetation, especially water lilies. Inconspicuous and shy, and will rarely emerge for long from thick cover. Call is a mournful wailing. Similar in coloration to African Swamphen, but slimmer and smaller, with a much smaller bill. Also similar to Eurasian Moorhen, but slimmer and smaller, with brighter coloration, red legs, and no yellow tip to the bill.
Identification
They are similar in size to the only slightly larger water rail. The Allen's gallinule has a short red bill, greenish back and purple upperparts. They have red legs with long toes, and a short tail which is white with a dark central bar underneath. Breeding males have a blue frontal shield, which is green in the female. Immature Allen's gallinules are sandy brown with a buff undertail. The downy chicks are black, as with all rails. They nod their heads as they swim.
Taxonomy
Its former binomial name is Porphyrula alleni. Porphyrio is the Latin for "swamphen", and alleni, like the English name, commemorates British naval officer Rear-Admiral William Allen (1792–1864).
- Scientific name
- Porphyrio alleni
- Authority
- Thomson, 1842
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Porphyrio
Range and habitat
Its breeding habitat is marshes and lakes in Sub-Saharan Africa. Remarkably, this apparently weakly flying bird is not only the only species with a purely sub-Saharan African range to have reached Great Britain, but has done so twice. It has also occurred as a vagrant in several other European countries.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Pachycephala nudigula
A chunky, thick-billed songbird. Unmistakable male is olive-green above with yellow-tinged underparts, a jet black hood, and a diagnostic patch of loose bare red skin on throat. Dull female has a gray head, an olive back, a yellow underside, and a white throat. Juvenile resembles female, but has a yellow throat. Found singly in hill and montane forest in the Lesser Sundas. Female can be separated from female Rusty-breasted Whistler by the olive upperparts, solid yellow underparts, lack of any pink on the breast, and indistinct pale eye-ring. Loud, powerful song consists of strident whistled notes and includes imitations of crows, orioles, and other bird species. Highly variable sounds also include a car alarm-like “WEE-WOO-WEE-WOO.”
Banded Sunbird
Anthreptes rubritorques
A very small sunbird with a short, slightly curved bill. Males are iridescent green above and pale gray below with a narrow red chest band. Females are much plainer, with a green back and pale gray-buff underparts. Found very locally in foothill and middle elevation forest, mostly in the canopy. Female similar to female Collared Sunbird, but shows much less yellow on the underparts. Separated from other sunbirds by shape and size. The vocalizations include a rising “tseep,” often repeated, and a low “tschk.”
Great Spotted Kiwi
Apteryx maxima
Large, light grayish brown kiwi with white horizontal banding or mottling along the length of the body. Restricted to the native forests, scrubland, and upland tussock grasslands of the northwestern South Island of New Zealand. More often heard than seen, including loud sniffling as it forages at night for invertebrates. Male produces a series of burry, rising high-pitched whistles. Female has a lower ascending burry whistle. Pairs often duet. Could be confused with Weka by voice and shape; look for the kiwi’s much longer bill and lack of tail, and listen for its multisyllabic call.
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