View the Common Moorhen photography of Bruce Dayton

Common Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus

The common moorhen is a uniformly gray, duck-like bird with a short, red bill tipped with yellow. A line of white feathers on the flanks and the red bill distinguish the moorhen from the similar-looking coot. Like the coot, the common moorhen pumps its head back and forth while swimming.

Sexes are similar, but the male tends to be larger.

Syllables: com-mon moor-hen
Pronunciation: ka mEn mur hehn



Common Moorhen
1-1	CmMh_08x10_008362	8x10 Print	$10.00
1-2	CmMh_11x14_008362	11x14 Print	$25.00


Common Moorhen
2-1	CmMh_08x10_008961	8x10 Print	$10.00
2-2	CmMh_11x14_008961	11x14 Print	$25.00


Common Moorhen
3-1	CmMh_08x10_008965	8x10 Print	$10.00
3-2	CmMh_11x14_008965	11x14 Print	$25.00


Common Moorhen
4-1	CmMh_08x10_008968	8x10 Print	$10.00
4-2	CmMh_11x14_008968	11x14 Print	$25.00


Young Common Moorhen
5-1	CmMh_08x10_028190	8x10 Print	$10.00
5-2	CmMh_11x14_028190	11x14 Print	$25.00

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The Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)
is a bird in the rail family with an almost worldwide distribution outside Antarctica and Australasian. In North America it was previously called the Common Gallinule.

This is a common breeding bird in marshy environments and well-vegetated lakes. It is often secretive, but can become tame in some areas. Populations in areas where the waters freeze, such as southern Canada, the northern USA and eastern Europe, will migrate to more temperate climes.

This is a distinctive species, with dark plumage apart from the white undertail, yellow legs and a red facial shield. The young are browner and lack the red shield. It has a wide range of gargling calls.

This species will consume a wide variety of vegetable material and small aquatic creatures. They forage while swimming, sometimes upending to feed, or walking through the marsh.

The nest is a roofed basket built on the ground in dense vegetation. 4-8 eggs are laid, which are incubated for about three weeks. Both parents incubate and feed the young. More than one brood may be raised in a year.

Despite loss of habitat in parts of its range, this bird remains common and widespread.

Category: Gallinula

Common Moorhen

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:   Chordata
Class:   Aves
Order:   Gruiformes
Family:   Rallidae
Genus:   Gallinula
Species:  G. chloropus

Binomial name
Gallinula chloropus