Grey headed swamphen showing its pedicured nails, Jaipur

Grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus) is a species of swamphen occurring from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to southern China and northern Thailand. It used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen. The grey-headed swamphen was introduced to North America in the late 1990s due to avicultural escapes in the Pembroke Pines, Florida area. State wildlife biologists attempted to eradicate the birds, but they have multiplied and can now be found in many areas of southern Florida.

They forage on insects, mollusks, water beetles, and water-plant shoots. In their foraging sprees they sometimes invade the close by paddy fields and graze on the tender rice-shoots.It is a very shy bird and hides itself among the cat-tail reeds at the slightest disturbance. Pairs are often seen and sometimes a party of them can be seen foraging at close fields adjoining the swamps. It is in the group of Rails, and has the characters of all rails. It is classified as least concern by IUCN.