Nest-site selection by Purple Swamphen in Haifeng, China

Abstract

The Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) is a rare species with an extremely small range in China. From March to June in 2005 and 2006, we investigated the nest-site selection of the Purple Swamphen in the Guangdong Haifeng Avian Natural Reserve, China. Nests were bowl- shaped or shallow cups with most of them constructed in hydrophyte clusters of Scirpus tabernae- montani. Distance to road and distance to water edge were significantly different between nest sites and non-nest sites and were important for determining nesting sites based on stepwise discriminant analysis. Our results suggest restoring and protecting the extant nesting areas is essential for effec- tive conservation of the Purple Swamphen in China.