CreatureData

Gray-headed swamphen

Porphyrio poliocephalus (Latham, 1801)

Status not recordedbirds

The gray-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus) is a species in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes.

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Quick facts about the gray-headed swamphen

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the gray-headed swamphen live?

Not recorded

Is the gray-headed swamphen endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the gray-headed swamphen classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGruiformes
  5. familyRallidae
  6. genusPorphyrio
  7. SpeciesPorphyrio poliocephalus (Latham, 1801)

Synonyms Gallinula poliocephalus

Other names and names in other languages (59)
  • Gray-headed purple swamphenEnglish
  • Grey-headed purple swamphenEnglish
  • Grey-headed swamp-henEnglish
  • Grey-headed swamphenEnglish
  • دجاجة الماء الأرجوانيةArabic
  • slípka šedohlaváCzech
  • Indisk SultanhøneDanish
  • GraukopfpurpurhuhnGerman
  • Σταχτoκέφαλη σoυλταvoπoυλάδαGreek
  • grizkapa porfirioEsperanto
  • Calamón cabecigrísSpanish
  • lasuur-sultantaitEstonian
  • طاووسکPersian
  • Talève à tête griseFrench
  • Cearcóg IndiachIrish
  • פורפיריה אפורת-ראשHebrew
  • जामुनी जलमुर्गीHindi
  • plavetna sultankaCroatian
  • Mandar kepala-kelabuIndonesian
  • Pollo sultano testagrigiaItalian
  • セイケイJapanese
  • КөкмаңдайKazakh
  • ನೇರಳೆ ಜಂಬುಕೋಳಿKannada
  • Pilkagalvė sultonvištėLithuanian
  • നീലക്കോഴിMalayalam
  • जांभळी पाणकोंबडीMarathi
  • कुर्माNepali
  • GrijskoppurperkoetDutch
  • gråhodesultanhøneNorwegian
  • ਨੀਲੀ ਜਲ ਕੁੱਕੜੀPunjabi
  • modrzyk siwogłowyPolish
  • camão-orientalPortuguese
  • СултанкаRussian
  • දම්-මැදි කිතලාSinhala
  • sultánka brahmanskáSlovak
  • Sivoglava sultankaSerbian
  • gråhuvad purpurhönaSwedish
  • நீலத் தாழைக்கோழிTamil
  • นกอีโก้งThai
  • SazhorozuTurkish
  • Султанка каспійськаUkrainian
  • 紫水鸡Chinese
  • دجاج السلطان رمادي الرأسArabic
  • دجاج المستنقع رمادي الرأسArabic
  • slípka modrá šedohlaváCzech
  • Graukopf-PurpurhuhnGerman
  • Calamón de cabeza grisSpanish
  • طاووسک سرخاکستریPersian
  • Pollo sultano asiaticoItalian
  • ハイガシラセイケイJapanese
  • जांभळी पाणकोंबडी (Marathi)Marathi
  • caimão-de-cabeça-cinzentaPortuguese
  • Camão-de-cabeça-cinzentaPortuguese
  • Каспийская султанкаRussian
  • Сероголовая султанкаRussian
  • сивоглава барска кокаSerbian
  • Gri Başlı SazhorozuTurkish
  • султанка сіроголоваUkrainian
  • 灰頭紫水雞Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the gray-headed swamphen

Other species in the same genus Porphyrio.

EN, Endangered
Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri)

Takahē

Porphyrio hochstetteri

Rallidae

CompareGray-headed swamphen vs Western swamphenGray-headed swamphen vs TakahēGray-headed swamphen vs American purple gallinuleGray-headed swamphen vs Allen's gallinule

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

What kind of animal is the gray-headed swamphen?

The gray-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus) belongs to the family Rallidae in the order Gruiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Gray-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/gray-headed-swamphen

MLA

“Gray-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/gray-headed-swamphen.

BibTeX
@misc{gray_headed_swamphen_2026,
  title = {Gray-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/gray-headed-swamphen},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}