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Purple Swamphen
Porphyrio porphyrio
species of Rallidae


img. 1751 ad. © Markus Sobotka
number longest
primary 10 per wing 189.5 - 218.0mm n=2
P6 (50%) P7 (50%)
secondary 14 per wing approx. 171.0mm n=1
S1 (100%)
retrix 10
approx. 116.5mm n=1
R1 (100%)
wing length1 hand-wing-index1,2 (HWI) primaries-index wing length/longest primary ratio hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio
215 - 283mm n=10 28 - 33% n=8 17 - 22% n=2 no data available no data available
detailed information

The wing length is measured on the flattened and straightened wing ("maximum chord") from the carpal joint to the tip of the longest primary feather, the so-called "Kleinschmidt-method".

combined data from:
Avonet1: 215 - 283mm n=10

The hand-wing-index, introduced by Kipp 1959, is calculated as the ratio of the hand length (difference between the length of the longest primary and the first secondary) to the wing length.

combined data from:
Avonet1: 28 - 33% n=8,
The primaries-index is calculated as the ratio of the longest primary feather length to the first (outermost) secondary. It is the equivalent of the hand-wing index for feather measurements. The wing length/longest primary ratio is calculated as the ratio of the wing length to the length of the longest primary feather. The hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio is calculated as the ratio of the hand-wing index to the primaries-index.
1 Tobias, J. A., et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds.
2 Kipp, Friedrich A.: "Der Handflügel-Index als flugbiologisches Maß", erschienen in "Vogelwarte - Zeitschrift für Vogelkunde", 1959, Band 20, Heft 1



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country allocations

extant

Afghanistan · Algeria · American Samoa · Angola · Australia · Austria (vagrant) · Azerbaijan · Bangladesh · Belgium (vagrant) · Bhutan · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cambodia · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · China · Congo (vagrant) · Congo, The Democratic Republic of the · Côte d'Ivoire · Croatia · Cyprus (vagrant) · Czechia (vagrant) · Egypt · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Fiji · France · Gambia · Germany (vagrant) · Ghana · Greece (vagrant) · Guinea-Bissau · Hong Kong (vagrant) · Hungary (vagrant) · India · Indonesia · Iran, Islamic Republic of · Iraq · Israel (vagrant) · Italy · Jordan (vagrant) · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Kuwait · Lao People's Democratic Republic · Lebanon (vagrant) · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Malaysia · Mali · Mauritania · Morocco · Mozambique · Myanmar · Namibia · Nepal · New Caledonia · New Zealand · Niger · Nigeria · Niue · Norway (vagrant) · Oman (vagrant) · Pakistan · Palau · Papua New Guinea · Philippines · Poland (vagrant) · Portugal · Qatar · Russian Federation · Rwanda · Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha (vagrant) · Samoa · Senegal · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Solomon Islands · Somalia (vagrant) · South Africa · Spain · Sri Lanka · Sudan · Syrian Arab Republic · Tanzania, United Republic of · Thailand · Timor-Leste · Togo · Tonga · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Uganda · United Arab Emirates · Vanuatu · Viet Nam · Zambia · Zimbabwe ·

extinct post-1500

Mauritius ·
source: IUCN 2025. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1 <www.iucnredlist.org>
assessment data: |

Rails and cranes

conservation status

  • CITES
    not listed
  • Regulation (EG) Nr. 865/2006
    not listed
  • German Federal Nature Conservation Act §44
    protected