Gray-headed swamphen and chick at Green Cay Wetlands in Boynton Beach yesterday afternoon.
Ever since I first saw these marsh birds a year ago at Lakeside STA I have hoped to see another.
Blogged Oct. 2017: New bird: escaped swamphens thrive in Florida wetlands
If you crossed a small purple dinosaur with a backyard hen you would get the Gray-headed Swamphen. They do run around (seemingly on top of the water) like sleeker, more athletic chickens. Their feather colors are beautiful.
Look at those magnificent feet and crazy-long toes. Good for walking on wetland vegetation.
The adult grasps a blade of grass and bites off a piece.
Porphyrio poliocephalas is an escaped nonnative that’s been making itself at home in South Florida since the 1990s.
Porphyrio is the swamphen or swamp hen genus of birds in the rail family. The genus name Porphyrio is the Latin name for “swamphen”, meaning “purple”.
Feeding the chick.
That is adorable.
Amy's Bird Blog 
Myself being a Florida invader 25 years ago, I cringe every time I hear folks around me spouting off about how “destructive these invasive birds are.” The true invasive species might be the flora growing so thick in the wetlands choking out open water areas. It may turn out that the GHSH is saving our wetlands.
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