Purple Gallinule

Porphyrio porphyrio

45 – 50 cm

90 – 100 cm

minor concern

vegetated wetlands

omnivorous, vegetables, eggs and poultry, occasionally

punctual

Barcelona Football Club wanted to build new facilities on land in Viladecans, (Llobregat river delta), and they were endangering one of the few blue cock breeding areas in Catalonia. Ornithologists proposed to the Club that they protect that habitat and that the blue cock became the emblem of the Club, as the colors match, and it was named “la Polla Blaugrana”.

In Catalonia it became almost extinct in the middle of the 20th century due to the reduction of wetlands and the pressure of hunting. The recovery of the lake has made it possible to consolidate a permanent population of blue cock.