Aspects of the breeding ecology of the Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio in the wetland complex of Guerbes-Sanhadja, north-east Algeria

Abstract

The Purple Swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio is a common rail that previously was little investigated in North Africa. From 2011 to 2013, its breeding ecology was studied at two natural wetlands in north-east Algeria, namely Garaet Hadj Tahar and Garaet Messaoussa. Numbers of Purple Swamphens at both localities peaked in late April and early May. Egg-laying started in early March, whereas hatching started in late March. Peak egg-laying took place in late March and early April, and peak hatching from mid-April to early May. There were significant differences in the size and weight of eggs between years and localities. The mean clutch size was 2.75  0.70 eggs and it was not significantly different between localities and years. Mean hatching success was 51% and it was positively correlated to nest depth only at Garaet Hadj Tahar. Most nests were built in dense tufts of Typha angustifolia and Phragmites australis. The main nesting materials were Phragmites australis and Scirpus maritimus.

Population Estimates and Site Occupancy of Purple Swamphen and White-Breasted Waterhen in the Natural and Artificial Urban Wetlands of Peninsular Malaysia

“…This abundance pattern negated the submissions of Hassen-Aboushiba (2015) that the PIW attracted more populations of PPI and AP than PW. Also, the number of PPI individuals was quite lower to that observed by Bara et al (2014) at the wetland complex of Guerbes-Sanhadja, north-east Algeria within the same study span.…”

“…PPI is widely distributed in southern and southeastern Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, sub-Saharan Africa, Australia and the Mediterranean basin (Bara et al, 2014;Taylor, 2016;Mundkur et al, 2017). This waterbird is associated with wetlands and dense marsh vegetation containing mainly Phragmites spp.…”

Invasive birds: global trends and impacts

“…Year-round breeding was also reported for Western Swamphens in Italy (Grussu, 1999). In contrast, egg-laying in Western Swamphens was restricted to March and April in Algeria (Mouslim et al, 2014) and in Grey-headed Swamphens to January-April in southern India (Doss et al, 2009).…”

Effect of Air Temperature and Water Depth on Bird Abundance: A Case Study of Rallidae and Anatidae in the Northeastern Algerian Garaet Hadj Tahar

“…Vegetation at the study site is mainly dominated by common reed Phragmites australis, lesser bulrush Typha angustifolia and seaside bulrush Sciprus maritimus, and secondarily by Nymphaeaceae (Nymphea alba), Araceae (Lemna gibba), and some species of Juncaceae (Juncus maritimus, J. conglomeratus, J. acutus) (Samraoui and De Belair, 1997). This Garaet is situated in a sub-humid bioclimatic stratum characterized by Mediterranean climate (see Bara et al, 2014). This climate is characterized by hot summers (mean maximum temperature: 34°C) and moderate winters (mean minimum temperature: 6°C), with most precipitation occurring between November-March.…”