This species is known to some as the Florida gallinule, or the common gallinule
This species is territorial; therefore females use many antagonistic displays toward other females. A display of this species is seen as the low posture and the half opening the wings. After competition is finished, the female engages in bill dipping with the male, which signals courtship rituals. The female will also communicate acoustically that she is ready to mate with a murmur call.
Communication Channels: visual ; acoustic
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Common moorhens are currently endangered in Hawaii (Hawaiian common moorhen, Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis), Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands (Mariana common moorhen, Gallinula chloropus guami). In Hawaii this species was present on all five of the major islands, but is now only present on two. This is due to destruction and lack of good habitat for the birds. Other subspecies are not threatened or endangered. (Taylor, 1998; U.S. Fish and Wildlife, 2002). Common moorhens are listed as special concern in the state of Michigan.
US Migratory Bird Act: protected
US Federal List: endangered
CITES: no special status
State of Michigan List: special concern
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: least concern
In some areas of the world the common moorhens are seen as a pest to crops. This species is an opportunistic feeder, which makes use of grain for food. In some instances they will feed in groups in agricultural areas.
Negative Impacts: crop pest
Species Used as Host:
Common moorhens feed while floating in water or walking on plants. In water the bird feeds by dipping its head and "surface sifting". It is an opportunistic feeder, which means that it eats the most abundant foods available. This species also feeds on land, gleaning insects or grazing for vegetation, cereals, or fruits.
Animal Foods: amphibians; fish; eggs; carrion ; insects; terrestrial non-insect arthropods
Plant Foods: leaves; seeds, grains, and nuts; fruit; flowers; bryophytes; algae
Primary Diet: omnivore
Common moorhens are widely distributed. In the United States, they are found year-round in California, Arizona, New Mexico and the Atlantic and Gulf coast states. They migrate and breed in the eastern half of the United States during the summer. They are also found throughout Mexico and Central America. The Common Moorhen is also found in South America, its range cutting through the middle of the continent from Brazil to Argentina and Peru. This species is also found year-round throughout Europe except Northern Scandinavia. From Europe it is migratory into Russia during the summer months. It is found also in India and the southern half of Asia south to the Philippine Islands. In Africa this species is only found in the area of South Africa, Madagascar, a large section of the Congo and Algeria.
Biogeographic Regions: nearctic (Native ); palearctic (Native ); oriental (Native ); ethiopian (Native ); neotropical (Native )
Common moorhens are found in many aquatic environments- man-made or natural, and in still or moving water. This species is partial to emergent aquatic vegetation which gives it adequate shelter. They are generally found in lowlands, up to 4575 m on passage though Nepal.
Range elevation: 0 to 4575 m.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; terrestrial ; freshwater
Aquatic Biomes: lakes and ponds; rivers and streams
Wetlands: marsh ; swamp
Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; agricultural ; riparian
Common moorhens are fairly susceptible to nest predation or predation at a young age. The majority of birds die within the first year, and many of the remaining birds die in the second year.
Range lifespan
Status: wild: 11 (high) years.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 126 months.
A medium to large sized gallinule. Dark gray to almost black in color, with a duller chin and throat. This species has white on the edges of the wings and rump. Legs are bright yellow-green. The bill of this species is yellow with a frontal shield that is bright red.
Range mass: 192 to 493 g.
Average mass: 300 g.
Range length: 30 to 38 cm.
Range wingspan: 50 to 55 cm.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Predators of adults are not specifically recorded. Predation is usually found during hatching and fledging. The charging attack is the most exploited tactic to discourage predators from taking young. The adult charges an intruder with its head held down. If the predator is too large to fend off, common moorhens will often flee and hide. This species has also been observed remaining submerged in water in the presence of a threat.
Known Predators:
Common moorhen mating behavior is unusual. Female competes in antagonistic behaviors with other females for copulation with males. The dominant female will chase the male in a courtship behavior. Copulation occurs on land and not in water.
Mating System: monogamous
Breeding occurs at any time in tropical regions and during warmer seasons of the year elsewhere. Typically, 5 to 9 eggs are produced.
Breeding season: Breeding season varies depending on latitude.
Range eggs per season: 2 to 12.
Range time to hatching: 17 to 22 days.
Average time to hatching: 20 days.
Range fledging age: 42 to 70 days.
Average fledging age: 50 days.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 12 months.
Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 12 months.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; oviparous
Average eggs per season: 9.
Incubation takes from 17 to 22 days, with a clutch size of 2 to 17. The male is reported to feed the female during incubation. Male moorhens are the prime incubator, but both sexes participate in incubation. Chicks upon hatching are precocial and nidifugous. These chicks are cared for and fed by both parents.
Parental Investment: precocial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Protecting: Male, Female)
Resident breeder, regular passage visitor and winter visitor.
The common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World.[2]
The common moorhen lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions or many tropical rainforests. Elsewhere it is likely the most common rail species, except for the Eurasian coot in some regions.
The closely related common gallinule of the New World has been recognized as a separate species by most authorities,[2] starting with the American Ornithologists' Union and the International Ornithological Committee in 2011.[3]
The name mor-hen has been recorded in English since the 13th century.[4] The word moor here is an old sense meaning marsh;[4] the species is not usually found in moorland. An older name, common waterhen, is more descriptive of the bird's habitat.
A "watercock" is not a male "waterhen" but the rail species Gallicrex cinerea, not closely related to the common moorhen. "Water rail" usually refers to Rallus aquaticus, again not closely related.
The scientific name Gallinula chloropus comes from the Latin Gallinula (a small hen or chicken) and the Greek chloropus (khloros χλωρός green or yellow, pous πούς foot).[5]
The moorhen is a distinctive species, with predominantly black and brown plumage, with the exception of a white under-tail, white streaks on the flanks, yellow legs and a red frontal shield. The bill is red with a yellow tip. The young are browner and lack the red shield. The frontal shield of the adult has a rounded top and fairly parallel sides; the tailward margin of the red unfeathered area is a smooth waving line. In the related common gallinule (Gallinula galeata) of the Americas, the frontal shield has a fairly straight top and is less wide towards the bill, giving a marked indentation to the back margin of the red area.
The common moorhen gives a wide range of gargling calls and will emit loud hisses when threatened.[6] A midsized to large rail, it can range from 30 to 38 cm (12 to 15 in) in length and span 50 to 62 cm (20 to 24 in) across the wings. The body mass of this species can range from 192 to 500 g (6.8 to 17.6 oz).[7][8]
This is a common breeding bird in marsh environments, well-vegetated lakes and even in city parks. Populations in areas where the waters freeze, such as eastern Europe, will migrate to more temperate climates. In China, common moorhen populations are largely resident south of the Yangtze River, whilst northern populations migrate in the winter, therefore these populations show high genetic diversity.[9]
This species will consume a wide variety of vegetable material and small aquatic creatures. They forage beside or in the water, sometimes walking on lilypads or upending in the water to feed. They are often secretive, but can become tame in some areas. Despite loss of habitat in parts of its range, the common moorhen remains plentiful and widespread.
The birds are territorial during breeding season, and will fight with other members of their species, as well as other water birds such as ducks, to drive them out of their territory. The nest is a basket built on the ground in dense vegetation. Laying starts in spring, between mid-March and mid-May in Northern hemisphere temperate regions. About 8 eggs are usually laid per female early in the season; a brood later in the year usually has only 5–8 or fewer eggs. Nests may be re-used by different females. Incubation lasts about three weeks. Both parents incubate and feed the young. These fledge after 40–50 days, become independent usually a few weeks thereafter, and may raise their first brood the next spring. When threatened, the young may cling to the parents' body, after which the adult birds fly away to safety, carrying their offspring with them.[6][10]
On a global scale – all subspecies taken together – the common moorhen is as abundant as its vernacular name implies. It is therefore considered a species of Least Concern by the IUCN.[1] However, small populations may be prone to extinction. The population of Palau, belonging to the widespread subspecies G. c. orientalis and locally known as debar (a generic term also used for ducks and meaning roughly "waterfowl"), is very rare, and apparently the birds are hunted by locals. Most of the population on the archipelago occurs on Angaur and Peleliu, while the species is probably already gone from Koror. In the Lake Ngardok wetlands of Babeldaob, a few dozen still occur, but the total number of common moorhens on Palau is about in the same region as the Guam population: fewer than 100 adult birds (usually fewer than 50) have been encountered in any survey.[11]
Other localised groups of common moorhen are starting to come under threat. The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in the United Kingdom has the common moorhen classified as one of its 103 species whose conservation status is of moderate concern[12] due to its recent population decine. The number of breeding pairs has fallen to its lowest level in the UK since 1966[13] and has been protected under the Wildlife and Countryside Act (1981).
The common moorhen is one of the birds (the other is the Eurasian coot, Fulica atra) from which the cyclocoelid flatworm parasite Cyclocoelum mutabile was first described.[14] The bird is also parasitised by the moorhen flea, Dasypsyllus gallinulae.[15]
Five subspecies are today considered valid; several more have been described that are now considered junior synonyms. Most are not very readily recognizable, as differences are rather subtle and often clinal. Usually, the location of a sighting is the most reliable indication as to subspecies identification, but the migratory tendencies of this species make identifications based on location not completely reliable. In addition to the extant subspecies listed below, an undescribed form from the Early Pleistocene is recorded from Dursunlu in Turkey.[16][17][18]
_collecting_for_nest.jpg)
collecting for nest, Wolvercote, Oxfordshire
_on_nest.jpg)
on nest, Wolvercote, Oxfordshire
Chick, 1–2 weeks old
Moorhen feeding chick some regurgitated food.
Immature G. c. chloropus, 3–4 months old, in Parc de Bercy, Paris (France)
_juvenile.jpg)
Juvenile, Strumpshaw Fen, Norfolk
_young_adult.jpg)
young adult, London
The common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus), also known as the waterhen or swamp chicken, is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae). It is distributed across many parts of the Old World.
The common moorhen lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions or many tropical rainforests. Elsewhere it is likely the most common rail species, except for the Eurasian coot in some regions.
The closely related common gallinule of the New World has been recognized as a separate species by most authorities, starting with the American Ornithologists' Union and the International Ornithological Committee in 2011.
