MOORHEN (GALLINULA CHLOROPUS)
“Look there’s a moorhen.” said my schoolteacher.
“What’s a moorhen?” someone replied
“It’s a little, black duck.” he said.
The Moorhen is not a duck. Neither is it a chicken, but with their cocked tail and habit of strutting and pecking in the grass it is easy to see the resemblance. They are a rail, related to the Coot Fulica atra which they are often confused with.
The moorhen appears black, with a flashing white undertail and white stripe along the wing, but a closer look reveals its wings are dark brown. Offsetting their plumage, their pointed beak is a bright waxy red and yellow (The coot by contrast is all black with a white beak). When on land, the moorhen reveals its long, gangly legs and toes which spread its weight on aquatic vegetation or silty banks and propel it through the water.
The moorhen’s loud, high-pitched voice is also very distinct. Their explosive ‘Pruuuk!’ call from a hiding place has often made me jump.
Moorhens are a familiar wetland bird, found almost anywhere there is fresh water from park lakes and marshes to small ponds, sometimes in gardens. They are quite skittish and prefer to stay around bankside plants to hide from predators, though they often venture onto open lawns to feed. They are rarely seen flying, since they usually do it at night.They are generally most active in the evening.
Moorhens are omnivores, eating a variety of foods in water and on land,from algae, shoots, roots, fruits and seeds to invertebrates, small fish and amphibians, and human scraps if available.
“What’s a moorhen?” someone replied
“It’s a little, black duck.” he said.
The Moorhen is not a duck. Neither is it a chicken, but with their cocked tail and habit of strutting and pecking in the grass it is easy to see the resemblance. They are a rail, related to the Coot Fulica atra which they are often confused with.
The moorhen appears black, with a flashing white undertail and white stripe along the wing, but a closer look reveals its wings are dark brown. Offsetting their plumage, their pointed beak is a bright waxy red and yellow (The coot by contrast is all black with a white beak). When on land, the moorhen reveals its long, gangly legs and toes which spread its weight on aquatic vegetation or silty banks and propel it through the water.
The moorhen’s loud, high-pitched voice is also very distinct. Their explosive ‘Pruuuk!’ call from a hiding place has often made me jump.
Moorhens are a familiar wetland bird, found almost anywhere there is fresh water from park lakes and marshes to small ponds, sometimes in gardens. They are quite skittish and prefer to stay around bankside plants to hide from predators, though they often venture onto open lawns to feed. They are rarely seen flying, since they usually do it at night.They are generally most active in the evening.
Moorhens are omnivores, eating a variety of foods in water and on land,from algae, shoots, roots, fruits and seeds to invertebrates, small fish and amphibians, and human scraps if available.
For a waterbird, moorhens have unusual habits. They often roost,
and even nest in tree branches and during freezing winters they may venture far
from water to find food, sometimes ending up around garden bird tables1.
Added to this, their breeding behaviour is quite remarkable among
birds. To the casual observer, everything appears normal, since it is difficult
to separate the sexes. Closer study shows that moorhens reverse normal avian
gender roles. It is the male who tends
the eggs and young the most, whilst females compete for good father material.
The male is also responsible for holding the family’s territory, providing a safe
home to rear the chicks2.
Another quirk to moorhen family life is cooperative breeding2.
Young from the year’s first brood may stay and help their parents raise later
broods. Only two other British birds are known to do this, the Long-tailed Tit Aegithalos caudatus and the Swallow Hirundo
rustica. The parents obviously benefit from the reduced workload, and more
chicks survive, but what’s in it for the stay-at-home teenager? By staying with
it’s parents, the cooperative youngster avoids conflict with strangers in other
territories, but also indirectly improves its gene pool. Since it shares genes
with its younger siblings and can’t breed itself until adulthood, the helper
actually improves its lifetime reproductive success (known as its ‘inclusive
fitness’). See here
for further explanation and photographs of this behaviour.
The moorhen’s nest is made of twigs, other plant parts and often
plastic rubbish. It is usually built away from the banks to be out of reach of
predators, either in the water or up to 8 metres above it in a tree. Although it appears messy, the nest is
meticulously woven together.
The chicks are very comical with messy black down, partly bald heads and feet that seem too big for their bodies, making them charmingly clumsy walkers. Juvenile moorhens are grey-brown with pale beaks reaching maturity at just one year old.
The chicks are very comical with messy black down, partly bald heads and feet that seem too big for their bodies, making them charmingly clumsy walkers. Juvenile moorhens are grey-brown with pale beaks reaching maturity at just one year old.
Though they seem dainty and skittish, Moorhens are ferocious
fighters amongst their own kind. Two aggressors
rush towards each other and turn in a head-down display fanning their white
undertails to show off their size. If neither backs down, they start a
ferocious grapple, clawing each other’s heads and breasts with their long toes
like fighting cockerels and ultimately aiming to dunk each other underwater.
Most fights you will see during the breeding season are ‘cat fights’ between females
over a choice boyfriend, whilst males fight over territory2. See a dramatic video of both partners fighting here (video would not embed).
So next time you’re by the water and see a moorhen, look
through the unassuming cover and admire the unique bird within, that will do
anything for its family.
References
1-
RSPB Community Forum. (2010) Moorhen in the Garden!. Available from: http://www.rspb.org.uk/community/wildlife/homesforwildlife/f/905/p/7822/61771.aspx
2-
Africa Gómez. The surprising Moorhen. Available from: http://therattlingcrow.blogspot.co.uk/2010/03/surprising-moorhen.html
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