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Common Moorhen
(Gallinula chloropus)
: "(Eurasian) Moorhen", "Common Gallinule", "Swamp Chicken", "Common Waterhen"
 German name(s): "Teichralle", "Teichhuhn", "Rotbläßchen", "Grünfüssiges
Teichhuhn"
Size: 30-38 cm; wing span 50-62 cm
Weight: 190-500 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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 Click here for a physical description
Common Moorhens are bluish-black henlike birds, with a bright-red
facial shield and base of the bill. The tip of the bill is yellow.
While front, head and neck are bluish-black, the wing coverts and
mantle of nominate race "chloropus" are
charcoal-black with an olive hue. The undertail has two white
panels with a central black stripe. The characteristic feature
that distinguishes Common Moorhens from similar species is a white
broken line along the flanks, at the leading edge of the wings.
Their irises are orange-brown.
The legs and feet are greyish-yellow to olive; in flight they trail
far behind the tip of the tail. Note that the feet are not webbed.
Juvenile
Common Waterhens do not have a facial shield yet. The cap, mantle
and wing coverts are charcoal-grey, while the front and the neck
are brownish-grey, with a light-grey chin. They do already have
the broken white line on the flanks and the two white panels on
the undertail. The bill is olive to brownish-grey; legs and feet
are olive-grey.
Juveniles
have brown irises.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Common
Moorhen at Wikipedia  .
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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Click here for information on habitat
and range
The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based
on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the
ebird.org
website.
The global distribution of the Common Moorhen is available
HERE
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There are five races of the Common Moorhen, with a combined
range encompassing most of temperate Europe, much of Africa
(outside the arid and semi-arid regions), Asia Minor, coastal
Arabia and southern to mid-latitude Asia, as far to the East
as Korea and Japan. The southern boundary of their distribution
extends to South Africa, Madagascar, the islands of the Indian
Ocean, the Indian subcontinent and south-eastern Asia, up to
Indonesia and the Philippines.
Common Moorhens, nominate race "chloropus", are
resident in almost all of southern, central and western
Europe, while they are breeding migrants to areas where
water freezes during the winter, such as eastern Europe
and southern Scandinavia. For the same reason, they are
NOT found in the highest reaches of mountain ranges, i.e.
the Alps, Pyrenees, Scottish Highlands, Scandinavian
Highlands and the Balkans.
The East-West boundary between residency and breeding
migration is a line connecting roughly the Polish Baltic
Sea coastline with the eastern edge of the Alps.
Common Moorhens have a preference for well-vegetated wetlands around
freshwater lakes (including ponds in gardens and urban parks) and in
swamps and marshes.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "chloropus"
H. Dahlem-Senger reports spotting Common Moorhens, race "chloropus",
in Dreieich, Hessen, Germany, in September 2017.
All sighting and photographic information presented on this page
has kindly been contributed by H. Dahlem-Senger.
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Photos |
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Race "chloropus"
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Frontal view of a juvenile Common Moorhen, with a second in
the background (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Dreieich, Hessen, Germany, September 2017]
Near-frontal view of a juvenile Common Moorhen
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Dreieich, Hessen, Germany, September 2017]
Lateral view of a juvenile Common Moorhen; click on photo to see
Mallard ducks
for comparison (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Dreieich, Hessen, Germany, September 2017]
Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Common Moorhen
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Dreieich, Hessen, Germany, September 2017]
Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Common Moorhen
(photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Dreieich, Hessen, Germany, September 2017]
These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our
contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species
please refer to a field guide.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
