Moorhen
Key facts
Scientific name: Gallinula chloropus
Status: Resident breeding species
Breeding birds: 270,000 pairs
Wintering birds: 330,000
Conservation status: Green
Length: 30 – 35 cm
Wingspan: 50 – 55 cm
Weight: 250 – 400 g
Description
Moorhens are medium-sized and appear black with a red and yellow beak, red frontal shield and long, green legs.
Up close they have a dark brown back and wings with a blue-black belly and white stripes on their flanks.
Juvenile moorhens are brown and don’t have the red frontal shield.
Nesting
Male and female moorhens build their saucer-shaped nests from twigs, coarse stems and grass lined with softer materials.
Moorhens lay up to 21 smooth and glossy, greyish-white eggs with reddish-brown markings. Both sexes incubate the eggs for up to 19-22 days and chicks fledge at 42-49 days.
Moorhens are generally monogamous and pair bonds can last for several years.
Feeding
Moorhens eat both plants and animals including molluscs, worms, insects, tadpoles and other birds’ eggs.
Where to see them
Moorhens can be found by ponds, lake or stream. They live in towns and cities as well as the countryside
They inhabit all of the UK but are scarce in northern Scotland and the uplands of Wales.
Listen
Fernand Deroussen/xeno-canto
Did you know?
Moorhens have long toes that make it possible to walk on soft mud and floating vegetation, so it can sometimes appear they are walking on water.
