Common Moorhen
Encyclopedia
The Common Moorhen is a bird in the Rallidae
family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to change taxonomy yet. In that light, the American forms can now be found under a separate species listing Common Gallinule
,
however all forms can still be found here until further actions are taken. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions, or many tropical rainforest
s. But elsewhere the Common Moorhen is likely the most commonly seen rail species to most people, excepting the Eurasian Coot
or American Coot
in some regions.
since the 13th century, and the word moor here is an old sense meaning marsh - the species is not usually found in moorland
. An older alternative name, Common Waterhen, is a more descriptive because of the bird's habitat
.
A "Watercock" is not a male "Waterhen", but the rail species Gallicrex cinerea, not especially 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).
The Moorhen 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 and will emit loud hisses when threatened.
This is a common breeding bird in marsh environments and well-vegetated lakes. Populations in areas where the waters freeze, such as southern Canada
, the northern USA
and eastern Europe, will migrate
to more temperate climes. This species will consume a wide variety of vegetable material and small aquatic creatures. They forage beside or in the water, sometimes upending in the water to feed. It is 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. They fight over territories and also hop around Lily pads.
The nest is a basket built on the ground in dense vegetation. Laying starts in spring, between mid-March and mid-May in N 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 even less 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.
Despite being an abundant and widespread species, small populations are more prone to extinction. The Hawaiian Moorhen or ʻalae ʻula (G. c. sandvicensis) is suspected to be threatened by the Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) which was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands
to hunt rat
s but found the local birdlife easier prey. The Mariana Common Moorhen or pulattat (G. c. guami) is very rare nowadays due to destruction of habitat
. Only some 300 adult birds remained in 2001, and it is listed as Endangered both federally
(since 1984) and locally.
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 also 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; less than 100 adult birds (usually less than 50) have been encountered in any survey.
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.
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. This species is parasitised by the moorhen flea
, Dasypsyllus gallinulae.
are today considered valid; several more have been described which 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. Old World
birds have a frontal shield with rounded top and fairly parallel sides; the tailward margin of the red unfeathered area is a smooth waving line. American
birds have a frontal shield that has a fairly straight top and is less wide towards the bill, giving a marked indentation to the back margin of the red area.
In addition to the extant subspecies listed below, there are two Pleistocene
populations known from fossil
s; they were distinct (generally larger) birds and probably the direct ancestors of some of today's Common Moorhens: The stout and long-winged paleosubspecies G. c. brodkorbi is known from the Ichetucknee River
deposits in Florida
; it was originally described as a distinct species. The presence of fossils typical of the shorter-winged and more delicate G. c. cerceris in the same deposits suggests that brodkorbi was not ancestral to the "Florida Gallinule" of our time but rather to the more northernly "Common Gallinule". An undescribed form is recorded from the Early Pleistocene
of Dursunlu in Turkey
.
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
family with an almost worldwide distribution. The North and South American Committees of the AOU and the IOC have voted on or before July 2011 to split the American forms into a new species Common Gallinule, however, no other committee has voted to change taxonomy yet. In that light, the American forms can now be found under a separate species listing Common Gallinule
Common Gallinule
The Common Gallinule, is a North American bird in the Rallidae family which has recently been split from the Common Moorhen by the AOU in July 2011. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions, or many tropical rainforests...
,
however all forms can still be found here until further actions are taken. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals and other wetlands. The species is not found in the polar regions, or many tropical rainforest
Tropical rainforest
A tropical rainforest is an ecosystem type that occurs roughly within the latitudes 28 degrees north or south of the equator . This ecosystem experiences high average temperatures and a significant amount of rainfall...
s. But elsewhere the Common Moorhen is likely the most commonly seen rail species to most people, excepting the Eurasian Coot
Eurasian Coot
The Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, also known as Coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. The Australian subspecies is known as the Australian Coot.-Distribution:...
or American Coot
American Coot
The American Coot is a bird of the family Rallidae, inhabiting wetlands and open water bodies. Measuring in length and across the wings, adults have a short thick white bill and white frontal shield, which usually has a reddish-brown spot near the top of the bill between the eyes...
in some regions.
Name confusion
The name mor-hen has been recorded in EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
since the 13th century, and the word moor here is an old sense meaning marsh - the species is not usually found in moorland
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
. An older alternative name, Common Waterhen, is a more descriptive because of the bird's habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
.
A "Watercock" is not a male "Waterhen", but the rail species Gallicrex cinerea, not especially 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
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
Gallinula (a small hen or chicken) and the Greek
Greek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
chloropus (khloros χλωρός green or yellow, pous πούς foot).
Description and ecology
This is a common breeding bird in marsh environments and well-vegetated lakes. Populations in areas where the waters freeze, such as southern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, the northern USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and eastern Europe, will migrate
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
to more temperate climes. This species will consume a wide variety of vegetable material and small aquatic creatures. They forage beside or in the water, sometimes upending in the water to feed. It is 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. They fight over territories and also hop around Lily pads.
The nest is a basket built on the ground in dense vegetation. Laying starts in spring, between mid-March and mid-May in N 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 even less 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.
Despite being an abundant and widespread species, small populations are more prone to extinction. The Hawaiian Moorhen or ʻalae ʻula (G. c. sandvicensis) is suspected to be threatened by the Small Indian Mongoose (Herpestes javanicus) which was introduced to the Hawaiian Islands
Hawaiian Islands
The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll...
to hunt rat
Rat
Rats are various medium-sized, long-tailed rodents of the superfamily Muroidea. "True rats" are members of the genus Rattus, the most important of which to humans are the black rat, Rattus rattus, and the brown rat, Rattus norvegicus...
s but found the local birdlife easier prey. The Mariana Common Moorhen or pulattat (G. c. guami) is very rare nowadays due to destruction of habitat
Habitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
. Only some 300 adult birds remained in 2001, and it is listed as Endangered both federally
Endangered Species Act
The Endangered Species Act of 1973 is one of the dozens of United States environmental laws passed in the 1970s. Signed into law by President Richard Nixon on December 28, 1973, it was designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of economic growth and...
(since 1984) and locally.
The population of Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
, 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 also very rare, and apparently the birds are hunted by locals. Most of the population on the archipelago
Archipelago
An archipelago , sometimes called an island group, is a chain or cluster of islands. The word archipelago is derived from the Greek ἄρχι- – arkhi- and πέλαγος – pélagos through the Italian arcipelago...
occurs on Angaur
Angaur
Angaur or Ngeaur is an island in the island nation of Palau. The island, which forms its own state, has an area of 8 km² . Its population is 188 . State capital is the village of Ngeremasch on the western side...
and Peleliu
Peleliu
Peleliu is an island in the island nation of Palau. Peleliu forms, along with two small islands to its northeast, one of the sixteen states of Palau. It is located northeast of Angaur and southwest of Koror....
, while the species is probably already gone from Koror
Koror
Koror is the state comprising the main commercial centre of the Republic of Palau. It consists of several islands, the most prominent being Koror Island ....
. In the Lake Ngardok
Lake Ngardok
Lake Ngardok is a lake on the Palauan island of Babeldaob, in the State of Melekeok. It is the largest natural freshwater lake in all of the islands of Micronesia. The lake and the marshes surrounding it are a refuge for the endangered saltwater crocodile , and it is an important breeding location...
wetlands of Babeldaob
Babeldaob
Babeldaob is the largest island in the island nation of Palau. Its area, 331 km² , makes up over 70% of the area of the entire country, and about 30% of the population, with about 6,000 people living there...
, a few dozen still occur, but the total number of Common Moorhens on Palau is about in the same region as the Guam population; less than 100 adult birds (usually less than 50) have been encountered in any survey.
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
Least Concern
Least Concern is an IUCN category assigned to extant taxon or lower taxa which have been evaluated but do not qualify for any other category. As such they do not qualify as threatened, Near Threatened, or Conservation Dependent...
by the IUCN.
The Common Moorhen is one of the birds (the other is the Eurasian Coot
Eurasian Coot
The Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra, also known as Coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. The Australian subspecies is known as the Australian Coot.-Distribution:...
, Fulica atra) from which the cyclocoelid
Cyclocoelidae
The Cyclocoelidae are a family of parasitic flatworms. They are placed in the monotypic suborder Cyclocoelata of the order Echinostomida....
flatworm
Flatworm
The flatworms, known in scientific literature as Platyhelminthes or Plathelminthes are a phylum of relatively simple bilaterian, unsegmented, soft-bodied invertebrate animals...
parasite Cyclocoelum mutabile was first described. This species is parasitised by the moorhen flea
Moorhen flea
The moorhen flea, Dasypsyllus gallinulae, originally from South America, is now a globally widespread flea species. It is a large flea, easily identified because the male has two heavy horn-like spines on one of the genital flaps, and the female has a deep "bite" on the seventh sternite.It is found...
, Dasypsyllus gallinulae.
Subspecies
About one dozen subspeciesSubspecies
Subspecies in biological classification, is either a taxonomic rank subordinate to species, ora taxonomic unit in that rank . A subspecies cannot be recognized in isolation: a species will either be recognized as having no subspecies at all or two or more, never just one...
are today considered valid; several more have been described which 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. Old World
Old World
The Old World consists of those parts of the world known to classical antiquity and the European Middle Ages. It is used in the context of, and contrast with, the "New World" ....
birds have a frontal shield with rounded top and fairly parallel sides; the tailward margin of the red unfeathered area is a smooth waving line. American
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
birds have a frontal shield that has a fairly straight top and is less wide towards the bill, giving a marked indentation to the back margin of the red area.
In addition to the extant subspecies listed below, there are two Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
populations known from fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
s; they were distinct (generally larger) birds and probably the direct ancestors of some of today's Common Moorhens: The stout and long-winged paleosubspecies G. c. brodkorbi is known from the Ichetucknee River
Ichetucknee River
The Ichetucknee River is a spring-fed, pristine river in North Central Florida. The entire of the river average wide, deep and most of the 6 miles lie within the boundaries of the Ichetucknee Springs State Park while the rest is to the south of US Highway 27...
deposits in Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
; it was originally described as a distinct species. The presence of fossils typical of the shorter-winged and more delicate G. c. cerceris in the same deposits suggests that brodkorbi was not ancestral to the "Florida Gallinule" of our time but rather to the more northernly "Common Gallinule". An undescribed form is recorded from the Early Pleistocene
Early Pleistocene
Calabrian is a subdivision of the Pleistocene Epoch of the Geologic time scale. ~1.8 Ma.—781,000 years ago ± 5,000 years, a period of ~.The end of the stage is defined by the last magnetic pole reversal and plunge in to an ice age and global drying possibly colder and drier than the late Miocene ...
of Dursunlu in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
| List of subspecies by date of description | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Common and trinomial names |
Description | Range | |
| Eurasian Common Moorhen G. c. chloropus (Linnaeus, 1758) Includes correiana and indica. |
.jpg) |
Wings and back blackish-olive | Ranges from Northwest Europe to North Africa Africa Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area... and eastwards to Central Siberia Siberia Siberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th... and from the humid regions of southern Asia Asia Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population... to Japan Japan Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south... and Central Malaysia; also found in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the... and the Canary Canary Islands The Canary Islands , also known as the Canaries , is a Spanish archipelago located just off the northwest coast of mainland Africa, 100 km west of the border between Morocco and the Western Sahara. The Canaries are a Spanish autonomous community and an outermost region of the European Union... , Azores Azores The Archipelago of the Azores is composed of nine volcanic islands situated in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean, and is located about west from Lisbon and about east from the east coast of North America. The islands, and their economic exclusion zone, form the Autonomous Region of the... , Madeira Madeira Madeira is a Portuguese archipelago that lies between and , just under 400 km north of Tenerife, Canary Islands, in the north Atlantic Ocean and an outermost region of the European Union... , and Cape Verde islands. |
| Southern American Common Moorhen G. c. galeata (Lichtenstein Martin Lichtenstein Martin Hinrich Carl Lichtenstein was a German physician, explorer, zoologist, and herpetologist.-Biography:... , 1818) |
 |
Wings and back are fairly uniform dark brownish slate grey. | Found in Trinidad Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in... , the Guyanas, and from Brazil Brazil Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people... south of the Amazonas Amazon River The Amazon of South America is the second longest river in the world and by far the largest by waterflow with an average discharge greater than the next seven largest rivers combined... to North Argentina Argentina Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires... and Uruguay Uruguay Uruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area... . |
| Indo-Pacific Common Moorhen G. c. orientalis (Horsfield Thomas Horsfield Thomas Horsfield M. D. was an American physician and naturalist.Horsfield was born in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and studied medicine at the University of Pennsylvania. He was the grandson of Timothy Horsfield, Sr., a colonel and justice of the peace in Bethlehem, and a friend mentioned in Benjamin... , 1821) |
Small, with slate grey upperwing coverts and large frontal shield. | Found in the Seychelles Seychelles Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar.... , Andaman Islands Andaman Islands The Andaman Islands are a group of Indian Ocean archipelagic islands in the Bay of Bengal between India to the west, and Burma , to the north and east... , and South Malaysia through Indonesia Indonesia Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an... ; also found in the Philippines Philippines The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam... and Palau Palau Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a... . The breeding population existing on Yap Yap Yap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four... in Micronesia Micronesia Micronesia is a subregion of Oceania, comprising thousands of small islands in the western Pacific Ocean. It is distinct from Melanesia to the south, and Polynesia to the east. The Philippines lie to the west, and Indonesia to the southwest.... since the 1980s is probably of this subspecies, but might be of the rare G. c. guami. Population size: Perhaps a few 100s on Palau as of the early 2000s, less than 100 on Yap as of the early 2000s. |
|
| African Common Moorhen G. c. meridionalis (C. L. Brehm Christian Ludwig Brehm Christian Ludwig Brehm was a German pastor and ornithologist. He was the father of Alfred Brehm.Brehm was born near Gotha, and studied at the University of Jena. In 1813 he became the minister at Renthendorf, a village sixty miles south of Leipzig, where he remained until his death... , 1831) |
Similar to orientalis, but the frontal shield is smaller. | Found in Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa as a geographical term refers to the area of the African continent which lies south of the Sahara. A political definition of Sub-Saharan Africa, instead, covers all African countries which are fully or partially located south of the Sahara... and Saint Helena Saint Helena Saint Helena , named after St Helena of Constantinople, is an island of volcanic origin in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is part of the British overseas territory of Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha which also includes Ascension Island and the islands of Tristan da Cunha... . |
|
| Madagascan Common Moorhen G. c. pyrrhorrhoa (A. Newton Alfred Newton Alfred Newton FRS was an English zoologist and ornithologist.Newton was Professor of Comparative Anatomy at Cambridge University from 1866 to 1907... , 1861) |
Similar to meridionalis, but the undertail coverts are buff. | Found on the islands of Madagascar Madagascar The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa... , Réunion Réunion Réunion is a French island with a population of about 800,000 located in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar, about south west of Mauritius, the nearest island.Administratively, Réunion is one of the overseas departments of France... , Mauritius Mauritius Mauritius , officially the Republic of Mauritius is an island nation off the southeast coast of the African continent in the southwest Indian Ocean, about east of Madagascar... , and the Comoros Comoros The Comoros , officially the Union of the Comoros is an archipelago island nation in the Indian Ocean, located off the eastern coast of Africa, on the northern end of the Mozambique Channel, between northeastern Mozambique and northwestern Madagascar... . |
|
| Andean Common Moorhen G. c. garmani (Allen Joel Asaph Allen Joel Asaph Allen was an American zoologist and ornithologist, born in Springfield, Massachusetts.He studied at Harvard University under Louis Agassiz... , 1876) |
Similar to galeata, but larger. | Found in the Andes Andes The Andes is the world's longest continental mountain range. It is a continual range of highlands along the western coast of South America. This range is about long, about to wide , and of an average height of about .Along its length, the Andes is split into several ranges, which are separated... from Peru Peru Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.... to Northwest Argentina. |
|
| Hawaiian Moorhen G. c. sandvicensis (Streets Thomas Hale Streets Thomas Hale Streets was an American naturalist. His works include Contributions to the Natural History of the Hawaiian and Fanning Islands and Lower California .... , 1877) Called alae ula ("red Hawaiian Coot Hawaiian Coot The Hawaiian Coot or alae keokeo is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae, that is endemic to Hawaii.... ") in Hawaiian Hawaiian language The Hawaiian language is a Polynesian language that takes its name from Hawaii, the largest island in the tropical North Pacific archipelago where it developed. Hawaiian, along with English, is an official language of the state of Hawaii... . |
Has a large frontal shield; the tarsus Tarsus (skeleton) In tetrapods, the tarsus is a cluster of articulating bones in each foot situated between the lower end of tibia and fibula of the lower leg and the metatarsus. In the foot the tarsus articulates with the bones of the metatarsus, which in turn articulate with the bones of the individual toes... is reddish-orange in front. |
Endemic to the Hawaiian Islands Hawaiian Islands The Hawaiian Islands are an archipelago of eight major islands, several atolls, numerous smaller islets, and undersea seamounts in the North Pacific Ocean, extending some 1,500 miles from the island of Hawaii in the south to northernmost Kure Atoll... . |
|
| Antillean Common Moorhen G. c. cerceris (Bangs Outram Bangs Outram Bangs was an American zoologist.Bangs was born in Watertown, Massachusetts and studied at Harvard from 1880 to 1884... , 1910) The now-obselete name of Florida Gallinule was once used the U.S. |
 |
Has a long bill and large feet and is less brown above. | Found in the Antilles Antilles The Antilles islands form the greater part of the West Indies in the Caribbean Sea. The Antilles are divided into two major groups: the "Greater Antilles" to the north and west, including the larger islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola , and Puerto Rico; and the smaller "Lesser Antilles" on the... , except Trinidad Trinidad Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in... and Barbados Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint... ; also found in South Florida Florida Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it... . |
| North American Common Moorhen G. c. cachinnans (Bangs, 1915) Also known as Common Gallinule and Marsh Hen. |
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Similar to cerceris, but upperparts coloration more like chloropus. | Ranges from Southeast Canada south through the USA, excluding the Great Plains Great Plains The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S... region, to West Panama Panama Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The... ; also found in the Galápagos and Bermuda Bermuda Bermuda is a British overseas territory in the North Atlantic Ocean. Located off the east coast of the United States, its nearest landmass is Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. It is about south of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, and northeast of Miami, Florida... . |
| Subandean Common Moorhen G. c. pauxilla (Bangs, 1915) |
Similar to cerceris, but smaller. | Found in lowland areas of East Panama Panama Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The... south to Northwest Peru. |
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| Mariana Common Moorhen G. c. guami (Hartert Ernst Hartert Ernst Johann Otto Hartert was a German ornithologist. Hartert was born in Hamburg. He was employed by Lionel Walter Rothschild as ornithological curator of his private museum at Tring from 1892 to 1929.... , 1917) Called pulattat in Chamorro Chamorro language Chamorro is a Malayo-Polynesian language, spoken on the Mariana Islands by about 47,000 people Chamorro (Chamorro: Fino' Chamoru or simply Chamoru) is a Malayo-Polynesian (Austronesian) language, spoken on the Mariana Islands (Guam, Rota, Tinian, and Saipan) by about 47,000 people Chamorro... . |
Body plumage is very dark. | Endemic to the Northern Mariana Islands Mariana Islands The Mariana Islands are an arc-shaped archipelago made up by the summits of 15 volcanic mountains in the north-western Pacific Ocean between the 12th and 21st parallels north and along the 145th meridian east... , but see also G. c. orientalis above. Population size: About 300 as of 2001. |
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| Barbados Moorhen G. c. barbadensis (Bond James Bond (ornithologist) James Bond was a leading American ornithologist whose name was appropriated by writer Ian Fleming for his fictional spy, James Bond.-Biography:... , 1954) |
Similar to cerceris, but with lighter head and neck, and less dull grey overall. | Endemic to Barbados Barbados Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint... . |
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External links
- Common Moorhen videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
- Cornell Lab of Ornithology - Common Moorhen
- USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter - Common Moorhen Information
- South Dakota Birds and Birding - Common Moorhen Information and Photos
- Madeira Birds - Moorhen breeding in Madeira Island