The species used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen. This feature is variable among other kinds of swamphen. The dusky moorhen may nest alongside the purple swamphen. A likely candidate is the purple swamphen. In 1991, the ornithologist Ian Hutton reported subfossil bones of the Lord Howe swamphen. The dusky moorhen is a medium size bird, slightly smaller than the purple swamphen. Porphyrio is the swamphen or swamp hen bird genus in the rail family. This includes a specimen (number NMW 50.761) of the extinct Lord Howe Swamphen. The council logo used until amalgamation in 2016 was based on the local Eastern Swamphen. Rhinoceros Hornbill, Oriental Pied Hornbill, Hill Myna, Formosan Blue Magpie, Purple Swamphen. The purple swamphen breeds in warm reed beds. It was a small swamphen endemic to Huahine in the Society Islands of French Polynesia. The Lord Howe swamphen inhabited wooded lowland areas in wetlands. Today the western swamphen is locally common, with the largest population in Spain. Nesting, breeding and rearing are as for the general species, see purple swamphen.