Nest-site selection by Purple Swamphen in Haifeng, China

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 bowlshaped or shallow cups with most of them constructed in hydrophyte clusters of Scirpus tabernaemontani. 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 effective conservation of the Purple Swamphen in China.