Listen to the western swamphen
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the western swamphen
The western swamphen is a bird in the family Rallidae (order Gruiformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”.
What does the western swamphen sound like?
Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round. Listening for both helps with identification.
The recordings here are labelled as call and flight call. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
The western swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) is a species of swamphen in the rail family Rallidae, one of the six species of purple swamphen. This chicken-sized bird, with its large feet, bright plumage and red bill and frontal shield is easily recognisable in its native range. It used to be considered the nominate subspecies of the purple swamphen, but is now recognised as a separate species. The western swamphen is found in wetlands in Spain (where the largest population lives), Portugal, southeastern France, Italy (Sardinia and Sicily) and northwestern Africa (Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia).
Related birds in the genus Porphyrio
More from the family Rallidae
Eurasian coot
Fulica atra
Common moorhen
Gallinula chloropus
Corn crake
Crex crex
Water rail
Rallus aquaticus
Spotted crake
Porzana porzana
Baillon's crake
Zapornia pusilla
White-breasted waterhen
Amaurornis phoenicurus
American coot
Fulica americana
Weka
Gallirallus australis
Ruddy-breasted crake
Zapornia fusca
Frequently asked questions
What does a western swamphen sound like?
You can hear 3 recordings of the western swamphen on this page, including its call and flight call. Most birds have two kinds of vocalisation: songs, which are learned or innate phrases delivered mainly in spring and summer, and calls – brief contact, alarm and begging notes heard all year round.
Is the western swamphen endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the western swamphen as “least concern”.
What family does the western swamphen belong to?
The western swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) belongs to the family Rallidae in the order Gruiformes.
Sources & credits
- Flight call · Área Metropolitana de Sevilla (near Isla Mayor), Sevilla… by Joost van Bruggen – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Área Metropolitana de Sevilla (near Isla Mayor), Sevilla… by Joost van Bruggen – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Call · Chavornay, Jura-Nord vaudois, Vaud, Switzerland by Pascal Christe – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q187902 – CC0
- Wikipedia: Western swamphen – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by Andreas Trepte – CC BY-SA 4.0