purple swamphen

noun

: a large purplish-blue bird (Porphyrio porphyrio of the family Rallidae) that is native to warmer parts of the Old World and typically frequents wet areas and that has long red legs and a thick red bill

Spring rain has brought the purple swamphens to the region's roadsides. The bird, which looks like a purple chicken, darts along the side of the road waiting for an opportunity to cross.

—The Newcastle (Australia) Herald, 2 Nov. 2010

… out to kill exotic purple swamphens—colorful, nonnative birds that infest a network of stormwater treatment areas constructed by the South Florida Water Management District …

—Sue Cocking, The Miami Herald, 16 Dec. 2010

called also purple gallinule

Word History

First Known Use

1949, in the meaning defined above

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