Mangalajodi Is Home To World’s Only White Swamphen

Mangalajodi Is Home To World’s Only White Swamphen

Mangalajodi, the swamplands of Chilika that numerous bird species call home, is also home to the world’s only white White Swamphen or Aberrantly Colored Gray Headed Swamphen. The abnormally coloured bird displays an almost all-white plumage with normal-coloured eyes. The abnormality has been affected due to a genetic dilution, researchers said.

The discovery of the diluted grey-headed swamphen has been published in the international journal ‘Wilson Journal of Ornithology’ as an online early article as the “first report of diluted plumage in grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus) and a review of colour aberrations in swamphens”.

Swamphens inhabit large marshes and reed beds bordering lakes. This large hen-sized bird (45-50 cm) is normally purplish-blue in colour and has a large red bill, red frontal shield, and white undertail covers. 

A three-member research team that has identified the spectacular bird includes honorary Wildlife Warden, Khurda, Subhendu Mallik, Associate Professor of Architecture, Sri Sri University, Shakti Nanda and Assistant Conservator of Forests, Angul, Asutosh Mallik. According to the researchers, some colour aberrations have been observed in Indian birds. However, no aberration has yet been recorded in the grey-headed swamphen, although it is a common resident bird throughout India.

Subhendu said the article by them is the first case of ‘almost all-white dilute plumage’ in the grey-headed swamphen. The aberrant bird was photographed by Shakti Nanda who posted it on Facebook. Owing to difficulties in sorting, its proper identification couldn’t be made for more than a year. However, the researchers decided to study it after which they came to know about its uniqueness. 

The dilute Gray-headed swamphen likely attained adulthood because of its normal eyesight. Had it been Albino, it would not have survived till adulthood due to poor eyesight. “Albino birds are rarely seen in the wild because the absence of melanin in the eyes makes them highly sensitive to light. With a poor depth of vision, the bird’s ability to forage is minimized and thus Albino birds usually die quickly after fledging,” said Ashutosh Mallik.

“The survival of this aberrantly plumaged swamphen could also be attributed to the environmental conditions such as the abundance of food at Mangalajodi, a well-preserved habitat and one of the best ecotourism destinations in Odisha,” said Shakti Nanda, who photographed the spectacular bird.