NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Grey-headed Swamphen
Porphyrio poliocephalus (Latham, 1801)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Open encyclopedia reference
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.
It is a large greyish-blue to greyish-purple wetland bird 43 cm long with a pale grey head, and a stout red bill. The wings are greenish, and the legs red. It occurs in marshes and jheels.
The male has an elaborate courtship display, holding water weeds in his bill and bowing to the female with loud chuckles.
Wikipedia contributors, Grey-headed swamphen; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T07:43:52.909062+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Porphyrio poliocephalus (Latham, 1801)
- Name authority
- (Latham, 1801)
- Common name
- Grey-headed Swamphen
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rallidae
- Genus
- Porphyrio
- Extinction status
- Recorded extant
Classification family tree
Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderGruiformes
- familyRallidae
- genusPorphyrio Brisson, 1760
- speciesPorphyrio poliocephalus (Latham, 1801)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Porphyrio. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Azure GallinulePorphyrio flavirostris (J. F. Gmelin, 1789) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| South Island TakahePorphyrio hochstetteri (A. B. Meyer, 1883) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Black-backed SwamphenPorphyrio indicus Horsfield, 1821 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| New Caledonia GallinulePorphyrio kukwiedei Balouet & Olson, 1989 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Australasian SwamphenPorphyrio melanotus Temminck, 1820 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| White SwamphenPorphyrio albus (Shaw, 1790) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Allen's GallinulePorphyrio alleni Thomson, 1842 | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| North Island TakahePorphyrio mantelli (Owen, 1848) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extinct |
| Purple GallinulePorphyrio martinica (Linnaeus, 1766) | RallidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Gallinula poliocephalus Latham, 1801 Latham, 1801 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
North America
Southern Asia
Source literature & publication evidence
References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1244217 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references
Origins, evidence & remaining research
Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.
Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record. A suitable sourced image remains to be added.
Dataset citation & attribution
This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11
Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.
Stable key: col:CPCMT. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.