Bronze sultan's chicken
| Bronze sultan's chicken | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Bronze sultan's hen ( Porphyrio alleni ) |
||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Porphyrio alleni | ||||||||||
| Thomson , 1842 |
The bronze sultan's chicken ( Porphyrio alleni ), also known as the African sultan's chicken , is an African species of bird from the railing family . It is a very rare stray visitor in the Western Palearctic .
description
The bronze sultan's hen reaches about the size of a water rail with 22 to 26 centimeters . Males weigh an average of 154 grams and females 125 grams. The wingspan is 48 to 52 centimeters.
The bronze sultan's chicken has a short, red beak and a greenish back that is overlaid with a wine-red color. The legs are red with long toes. The tail is short and white and has a dark transverse band on the underside. Males have a blue faceplate during the breeding season. In females this is green. Bronze sultans not yet sexually mature are sandy-colored with slightly darker under-tail-coverts. The downy chicks are blackish.
Distribution, habitat and way of life
The bronze sultan is a breeding bird in Africa. It occurs south of the Sahara and is only missing in the arid south-west of Africa. It also colonizes Madagascar , the Comoros and Mauritius . Its habitat are tropical lowlands and wetlands. The bronze sultan's hen is a resident bird in permanent waters. Where the body of water fluctuates seasonally, the rail migrates irregularly and penetrates during these forays into North Africa and Western Europe. The bronze sultan's hen lives mainly on vegetable food.
supporting documents
literature
- Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds. Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 .
Single receipts
Web links
- Porphyrio alleni in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2008. Accessed on 16 August, 2008.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings of Porphyrio alleni in the Internet Bird Collection