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Moorhens
Common Moorhen
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Gruiformes Family: Rallidae Genus: Gallinula Brisson, 1760
Species
Samoan Wood Rail, Gallinula pacifica (sometimes placed in genus Pareudiastes, extinct?) Makira Moorhen, Gallinula silvestris (sometimes placed in genus Pareudiastes or Edithornis, extinct?) Tristan Moorhen, Gallinula nesiotis (extinct) Gough Island Moorhen, Gallinula comeri Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus Dusky Moorhen, Gallinula tenebrosa Lesser Moorhen, Gallinula angulata Spot-flanked Gallinule, Gallinula melanops Black-tailed Native-hen, Gallinula ventralis Tasmanian Native-hen, Gallinula mortierii For prehistoric taxa, see article text.
Synonyms
Edithornis Pareudiastes Tribonyx

The moorhens are medium-sized water birds which are members of the rail family Rallidae. They constitute the genus Gallinula.^[1] They are relatives of coots, and because of their apparently nervous behavior (frequently twitching tail and neck) are sometimes called skitty coots.

These rails are mostly brown and black with some white markings in plumage colour. Unlike many of the rails they are usually easy to see, feeding in open water margins rather than hidden in reedbeds.

They have short rounded wings and are weak fliers, although usually capable of covering long distances. The Common Moorhen in particular migrates up to 2,000 km from some of its breeding areas in the colder parts of Siberia. Those that migrate do so at night. The Gough Island Moorhen on the other hand is considered almost flightless - it can only flutter some meters.

Moorhens can walk very well on strong legs, and have long toes that are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces.

These birds are omnivorous taking plant material, small animals and eggs. They are aggressively territorial during the breeding season, but are otherwise often found in sizeable flocks on the shallow vegetated lakes they prefer.

Late Pliocene fossil species are known from deposits in Kansas (Gallinula kansarum) and from Varshets, Bulgaria (G. balcanica; Middle Villafranchian). In addition to paleosubspecies of Gallinula chloropus, the doubtfully distinct Late Pliocene/Early Pleistocene Gallinula mortierii reperta was described, referring to the population of the Tasmanian Native-hen that once inhabited mainland Australia and became extinct at the end of the last ice age (Olson 1975; Baird, 1984).

Apart from the 1-3 extinctions in more recent times, 2 species have gone extinct as a consequence of early human settlement: Hodgen's Waterhen (Gallinula hodgenorum) of New Zealand, and the undescribed Viti Levu Gallinule of Fiji which would either be separated in Pareudiastes if that genus is considered valid, or may be a completely new genus. Similarly, the undescribed Mangaia "Swamphen" which is currently tentatively assigned to Porphyrio may belong to Gallinula/Pareudiastes.

• Baird, R. F. (1984): The Pleistocene distribution of the Tasmanian native-hen Gallinula mortierii mortierii. Emu 84(2): 119-123. PDF fulltext

• Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760): Ornithologia sive Synopsis methodica sistens avium divisionem in ordines, sectiones, genera, species, ipsarumque varietates, etc. 1: 46-56, plates V and VI.

• Olson, Storrs L. (1975): The fossil rails of C.W. DeVis, being mainly an extinct form of Tribonyx mortierii from Queensland. Emu 75(2): 49-54. HTML abstract

1. ^ Latin for moorhens; literally "little hen".

Wikispecies has information related to:

Gallinula

• ARKive - images and movies of the Gough Island Moorhen (Gallinula comeri)

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