7

Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) Alternate name(s): "(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 Body mass: 190-500 g

Europe: Family Group 7 Family Group 7 Table Western Swamphen Common Moorhen Eurasian Coot Red-knobbed Coot Baillon's Crake Little Crake Spotted Crake Water Rail Great Bustard Little Bustard Common Crane Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names European birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description 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.

Taxonomy, classification See Common Moorhen at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Common Moorhen is available HERE . 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.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "chloropus" J. Pires reports spotting Common Moorhens, race "chloropus", regularly in the area from the Tejo estuary to Lisbon and Mora, Evora, Portugal. The species was also found in other locations in Iberia and on Terceira Island, Azores. H. Dahlem-Senger reports spotting Common Moorhens, race "chloropus", in Dreieich, Hessen, Germany, in September 2017. They were found nesting at Neuharlingersiel, Ostfriesland, Germany, in June 2021. M. Eaton found Common Moorhens, race "chloropus", in Hyde Park, London, England, in September 2019. D. Wilczynska reports finding Common Moorhens, race "chloropus", on the river Bug, near Malkinia, Masovia, Poland, in July 2020. G. Normand spotted Common Moorhens, race "chloropus", in Tirana, Albania, in August 2021. A. Sarok reports finding Common Moorhens, race "chloropus", in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024.

Photos

Race "chloropus"

This race is also called the "Eurasian Common Moorhen".

ADULT

Sex unknown

Frontal view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita, Setubal, Portugal, January 2025]

Near-frontal view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita, Setubal, Portugal, January 2025]

Near-frontal view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Near-lateral view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Almada, Setubal, Portugal, January 2023]

Near-lateral view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita do Ribatejo, Setubal, Portugal, January 2025]

Near-lateral view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita, Setubal, Portugal, January 2025]

Lateral view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Almada, Setubal, Portugal, January 2023]

Lateral view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Almada, Setubal, Portugal, November 2022]

Lateral view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita, Setubal, Portugal, January 2025]

Lateral view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Hyde Park, London, England, September 2019]

Close-up lateral view of a Common Moorhen looking away from the observer (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Moita, Setubal, Portugal, January 2025]

Lateral view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, November 2025]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Moorhen; note the two white undertail spots, as opposed to the Western Swamphen's one (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Badajoz, Spain, November 2021]

Dorsal view of a Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, October 2021]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Moorhen in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, May 2015]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral view of an immature Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Parque Ambiental de Vilamoura, Loule, Faro, Algarve, Portugal, October 2024]

Lateral view of an immature Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Parque Ambiental de Vilamoura, Loule, Faro, Algarve, Portugal, October 2024]

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 (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Hyde Park, London, England, September 2019]

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]

Lateral view of a juvenile Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Lisbon, Portugal, June 2014]

Lateral view of a juvenile Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Rio Duero, Zamora, Spain, July 2022]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Raia river, Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Common Moorhen (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Dreieich, Hessen, Germany, September 2017]

Near-lateral view of a Common Moorhen with chick (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of a Common Moorhen with a chick (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a Common Moorhen with a chick (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2018]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Mar - Sep?

Eggs: 6 - 10

Incubation period: ca. 21 days

Fledging age: 40 - 50 days

Nest building: Female & male

Incubation: Female & male

Dependent care: Female & male

The duration of the breeding season depends on geographic latitude. The values listed in the table above are for the temperate areas in Europe. During the breeding season Common Moorhens are territorial and males will chase away intruders into their territories. The number of eggs listed above is for the first brood of the season. If a second attempt is made, there tend to be only 5-8 eggs. Nests made be reused by different females. The young are precocial, i.e. they leave the nest shortly after hatching.

Nest

Type: Basket

Material: Reeds

Height above ground: N/A

Near-lateral view of a Common Moorhen carrying nest material (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Neuharlingersiel, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Lateral view of a Common Moorhen carrying nest material (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Neuharlingersiel, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Dorsal view of a Common Moorhen delivering nest material (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Neuharlingersiel, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Close-up frontal view of a Common Moorhen on its nest (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Neuharlingersiel, Ostfriesland, Germany, June 2021]

Eggs

Size: 42 x 29 mm

Colour: Light-brown, with sparse mid- to dark-brown speckles

Shape: Tapered oval

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Territorial

Mobility: Partially migratory

Elementary unit: Solitary/pair

In Europe, the large populations of Common Moorhens in southern, western and central Europe are sedentary. Birds that breed in eastern Europe and southern Scandinavia, where waters freeze over in winter, migrate southward. Outside the breeding season, Common Moorhens may be more sociable but to our knowledge they do not form large flocks as the Eurasian Coot does.

Male Common Moorhens can be seen in cockfights; here the initial challenge... (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2015]

... then one gains the upper hand ... (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2015]

... before chasing the challenger from the field (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2015]

Lateral view of two fighting male Common Moorhens (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Botanic Gardens, Porto, Portugal, April 2025]

Food, Diet

Common Moorhen with parts of an aquatic plant (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, December 2014]

Mob of Common Moorhen feeding together on aquatic plants (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, January 2018]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

moorhen_dw_20200726.m4a	chloropus (Poland)	Contact calls?	© DW
moorhen_jp_20190703.m4a	chloropus (Portugal)	?	© JP
moorhen_jp_20200615.m4a	chloropus (Portugal)	? (+ House Sparrow)	© JP

More Common Moorhen sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

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.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.