Lord Howe Swamphen
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| Lord Howe Swamphen Conservation status: Extinct (c1800s) | ||||||||||||||
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| Porphyrio albus (Shaw, 1790) |
The Lord Howe Swamphen (Porphyrio albus) was a large bird in the family Rallidae. It was similar to the Purple Swamphen, but with shorter and more robust legs and toes. Its plumage was white, sometimes blue, and it was probably flightless, like its other close relative the Takahe.
This bird was first described by John White in his Journal of a Voyage to New South Wales (1790), which also contained an illustration. It was a resident of Lord Howe Island, Australia. It was not uncommon when the bird was first described, but was soon hunted to extinction by whalers and sailors.
There are two skins of the bird in existence, in the museums of Liverpool and Vienna. There are also several paintings, and some subfossil bones.