Moorhens and More

Kingdom: Animalia

Family: Rallidae

Species: Gallinula chloropus

The common moorhen, also known as the swamp chicken (not a nice nickname really is it?), is a species of bird found widely across the Old World: the parts of the world known to Europeans before the discovery of the Americas, including Europe, Asia and Africa. Although they are birds, they are better at swimming and walking than they are flying, and are often seen swimming bobbing their heads back and forth.

Moorhens are found in well-vegetated marshes, ponds and other wetlands. I found a few when walking along a river somewhere on the UEA campus behind the lake... However, I am not sure exactly where this is as I did get a bit lost! The moorhen is distinctly recognisable because of its dark plumage with a white under tail and stripes on the flanks, yellow legs and red bill with a yellow tip. Younger moorhens are brown and lack the red frontal shield. They grow to 12-15 inches with a wingspan of just under 2 feet. Their feet are not webbed - they have long chicken-like toes (hence the nickname) which enable them to walk on top of the floating vegetation and the mud.

They consume a variety of vegetables and small aquatic animals, foraging either in the water or on land. They are quite secretive, although this one was tame enough to let me close enough to get some pics, even if they are a little blurry. This may be because I took these before breeding season had started - this takes place from mid-March to mid-May in the Northern hemisphere, and usually in lowland areas in the UK in central and eastern England, which the UEA campus is a clear example of!

During the breeding season the birds can get very territorial. The male moorhen courts the female by bringing her water weeds and fanning out his tail. They form a monogamous pair and build their nests on the ground in dense vegetation, in a bowl shape and made of twigs, cattail, grass and sedges. Usually the male gathers the twigs and the female builds the nest among vegetation in the water. 

About 8 eggs are laid per female early on in the season, at a rate of about 1 egg per day, although this may be slightly less later on. The eggs are smooth and glossy, of a greyish-white to green colour with reddish-brown or grey markings, measuring about 43mm by 31mm. Incubation lasts about 3 weeks and is done by both parents, showing the high parental investment typical of birds. Young moorhens are precocial, and can therefore leave the nest and feed themselves within a few days of birth. They then fledge after 40-50 days. If the young fee threatened, they cling to their parents' body and the adults carry them, flying away to safety. 

Moorhens are often confused with coots, but although coots are similar, they have a white beak, and have no red mark. This can be remembered by thinking R is for red, and there are no "R"s in coot! Another way is to think CO reminds you of a cold and white frost, or OO reminds you of snowballs which are white - these can be related to the white beak!

The moorhen population began declining in the 1970s and 80s but has recovered since. This was thought to be because of a result of reduced clutch size caused by the spread of the American mink, which predates the birds' nests along waterways. The moorhen is considered now to be a species of Least Concern by the IUCN, so we don't need to be bidding farewell to the moorhens on our waterways for hopefully a very long time!