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Common Moorhen
Eurasian Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus chloropus)
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Gruiformes Family: Rallidae Genus: Gallinula Species: G. chloropus
Binomial name
Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus, 1758)
European distribution of the Common Moorhen. Green: Year-round Yellow: Summer.
Subspecies
About 12, see text
Synonyms
Fulica chloropus Linnaeus, 1758

The Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is a bird in the rail family with an almost worldwide distribution outside Australasia as well as desert, many tropical rainforest, and the polar regions. In North America it used to be called the Common Gallinule, and in Europe it is generally simply referred to as "the Moorhen".

Contents 1 Subspecies 1.1 Eurasian Common Moorhen 1.2 Southern American Common Moorhen 1.3 Indo-Pacific Common Moorhen 1.4 African Common Moorhen 1.5 Madagascan Common Moorhen 1.6 Andean Common Moorhen 1.7 Hawaiian Moorhen 1.8 Antillean Common Moorhen 1.9 North American Common Moorhen 1.10 Subandean Common Moorhen 1.11 Mariana Common Moorhen 1.12 Barbados Moorhen 1.13 Gallery 1.14 References 1.14.1 Footnotes 1.15 External links

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 and will emit loud hisses when threatened.

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. Laying starts in spring, dependent on climate conditions between mid-March and mid-May in N hemisphere temperate regions. 8-12 eggs are usually laid per female early in the season; a second brood in summer usually has only 5-8 or even less eggs; nests may be shared by females. Incubation lasts for 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 already.(Snow et al. 1998)

Despite loss of habitat in parts of its range, as a species the Common Moorhen remains plentiful and widespread.

About one dozen subspecies 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.

Despite being a bountiful species, small populations are of course more prone to extinction. 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 (Takano & Haig 2004).

In addition to the extant subspecies listed below, there are two Pleistocene paleosubspecies known from fossils. These were distinct (generally larger) forms and probably the direct ancestors of some of today's Common Moorhens: Gallinula chloropus brodkorbi from the Ichetucknee River, Florida, and an undescribed Early Pleistocene form from Dursunlu, Turkey (Louchart et al. 1998).

G. c. chloropus (Linnaeus, 1758)

Ranges from Northwest Europe to North Africa and eastwards to Central Siberia and from the humid regions of southern Asia to Japan and Central Malaysia; also found in Sri Lanka and the Canary, Azores, and Cape Verde islands. Includes the proposed subspecies correiana and indica.

G. c. galeata (Lichtenstein, 1818)

Found in Trinidad, the Guyanas, and from Brazil south of the Amazonas to North Argentina and Uruguay. Wings and back are fairly uniform dark brownish slate grey.

G. c. orientalis (Horsfield, 1821)

Found in the Seychelles, Andaman Islands, and South Malaysia through Indonesia; also found in the Philippines and Palau. Small, with slate grey upperwing coverts and large frontal shield.

G. c. meridionalis (C. L. Brehm, 1831)

Found in Sub-Saharan Africa and Saint Helena. Appearance is similar to orientalis, but the frontal shield is smaller.

G. c. pyrrhorrhoa (A. Newton, 1861)

Found on the islands of Madagascar, Réunion, Mauritius, and the Comoros. The undertail coverts are buff.

G. c. garmani (Allen, 1876)

Found in the Andes from Peru to Northwest Argentina. Appearance is similar to galeata, but larger.

G. c. sandvicensis (Streets, 1877)

Subspecies is endemic to the Hawaiian Islands. Has a large frontal shield; the tarsus is reddish-orange in front. Known as ‘alae ‘ula in Hawaiian.

G. c. cerceris (Bangs, 1910)

Found in the Antilles, except Trinidad and Barbados; also found in South Florida. Has a long bill and large feet and is less brown above. Known as Florida Gallinule in the USA. ^[1]

G. c. cachinnans (Bangs, 1915)

Ranges from Southeast Canada south through the USA, excluding the Great Plains region, to West Panama; also found in the Galápagos and Bermuda. Appearance is similar to cerceris, but upperparts coloration more like chloropus. Also known as Common Gallinule.

G. c. pauxilla (Bangs, 1915)

Found in lowland areas of East Panama south to Northwest Peru. Appearance is similar to cerceris, but smaller.

G. c. guami (Hartert, 1917)

Subspecies is endemic to the Northern Mariana Islands. Body plumage is very dark. Known as pulattat in Chamorro.

G. c. barbadensis (Bond, 1954)

Subspecies is endemic to Barbados. Appearance is similar to cerceris, but with lighter head and neck, and less dull grey overall.

With juveniles in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Preening in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Preening in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Immature in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Immature in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Feeding juveniles in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	In Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	In Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
Adult in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	G. c. chloropus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	thumb| Immatures- G. c. chloropus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	thumb| G. c. chloropus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
thumb|Immature- G. c. chloropus in Kolkata, West Bengal, India.	Nest with small clutch of eggs	Chick, 1-2 weeks old	Unfledged young, about 1 month old
Immature bird, some 3-4 months old	Common Moorhen Adult - India	Common Moorhen Adult - Lithuania

• BirdLife International (2004). Gallinula chloropus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
• Louchart, Antoine; Mourer-Chauviré, Cécile; Guleç, Erksin; Howell, Francis Clark & White, Tim D. (1998): L'avifaune de Dursunlu, Turquie, Pléistocène inférieur: climat, environnement et biogéographie. C. R. Acad. Sci. Paris IIA 327(5): 341-346. [French with English abridged version] doi:10.1016/S1251-8050(98)80053-0 (HTML abstract)
• Snow, David W.; Perrins, Christopher M.; Doherty, Paul & Cramp, Stanley (1998): The complete birds of the western Palaearctic on CD-ROM. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192685791
• Takano, Leilani L. & Haig, Susan M. (2004): Distribution and Abundance of the Mariana Subspecies of the Common Moorhen. Waterbirds 27(2): 245-250. DOI:10.1675/1524-4695(2004)027[0245:DAAOTM]2.0.CO;2 HTML abstract

1. ^ Due to uncertainty about the Floridan birds' identity, this vernacular name was also applied to ssp. galeata and cachinnans.

• Internet Bird Collection: Common Moorhen videos
• 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