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Gallinula chloropuscommon moorhen

By Matthew Nelson

Geographic Range

Common moorhens are widely distributed. In the United States, they are found year-round in California, Arizona, New Mexico and the Atlantic and Gulf coast states. They migrate and breed in the eastern half of the United States during the summer. They are also found throughout Mexico and Central America. The Common Moorhen is also found in South America, its range cutting through the middle of the continent from Brazil to Argentina and Peru. This species is also found year-round throughout Europe except Northern Scandinavia. From Europe it is migratory into Russia during the summer months. It is found also in India and the southern half of Asia south to the Philippine Islands. In Africa this species is only found in the area of South Africa, Madagascar, a large section of the Congo and Algeria. (Taylor, 1998)

Habitat

Common moorhens are found in many aquatic environments- man-made or natural, and in still or moving water. This species is partial to emergent aquatic vegetation which gives it adequate shelter. They are generally found in lowlands, up to 4575 m on passage though Nepal. (Taylor, 1998)

  • Aquatic Biomes
  • lakes and ponds
  • rivers and streams
  • Range elevation
    0 to 4575 m
    0.00 to 15009.84 ft

Physical Description

A medium to large sized gallinule. Dark gray to almost black in color, with a duller chin and throat. This species has white on the edges of the wings and rump. Legs are bright yellow-green. The bill of this species is yellow with a frontal shield that is bright red. (Davis, 1997; Taylor, 1998)

  • Range mass
    192 to 493 g
    6.77 to 17.37 oz
  • Average mass
    300 g
    10.57 oz
  • Range length
    30 to 38 cm
    11.81 to 14.96 in
  • Range wingspan
    50 to 55 cm
    19.69 to 21.65 in

Reproduction

Common moorhen mating behavior is unusual. Female competes in antagonistic behaviors with other females for copulation with males. The dominant female will chase the male in a courtship behavior. Copulation occurs on land and not in water. (Taylor, 1998)

Breeding occurs at any time in tropical regions and during warmer seasons of the year elsewhere. Typically, 5 to 9 eggs are produced. (Taylor, 1998)

  • Breeding season
    Breeding season varies depending on latitude.
  • Range eggs per season
    2 to 12
  • Average eggs per season
    9
    AnAge
  • Range time to hatching
    17 to 22 days
  • Average time to hatching
    20 days
  • Range fledging age
    42 to 70 days
  • Average fledging age
    50 days
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female)
    12 months
  • Average age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male)
    12 months

Incubation takes from 17 to 22 days, with a clutch size of 2 to 17. The male is reported to feed the female during incubation. Male moorhens are the prime incubator, but both sexes participate in incubation. Chicks upon hatching are precocial and nidifugous. These chicks are cared for and fed by both parents. (Taylor, 1998)

  • Parental Investment
  • precocial
  • pre-fertilization
    • provisioning
    • protecting
      • female
  • pre-hatching/birth
    • protecting
      • male
      • female

Lifespan/Longevity

Common moorhens are fairly susceptible to nest predation or predation at a young age. The majority of birds die within the first year, and many of the remaining birds die in the second year. (Taylor, 1998)

Behavior

Common moorhens walk on aquatic vegetation. They also swim well and are able to dive and propel themselves with their legs. This species roosts at dusk in low trees or bushes. "During a heavy rain an incubating bird was seen to cover itself repeatedly with a sheet of polythene, in the manner of a cape, and to remove it when the rain stopped" (Taylor, 1998). (Taylor, 1998)

Communication and Perception

This species is territorial; therefore females use many antagonistic displays toward other females. A display of this species is seen as the low posture and the half opening the wings. After competition is finished, the female engages in bill dipping with the male, which signals courtship rituals. The female will also communicate acoustically that she is ready to mate with a murmur call. (Taylor, 1998)

Food Habits

Common moorhens feed while floating in water or walking on plants. In water the bird feeds by dipping its head and "surface sifting". It is an opportunistic feeder, which means that it eats the most abundant foods available. This species also feeds on land, gleaning insects or grazing for vegetation, cereals, or fruits. (Taylor, 1998)

  • Animal Foods
  • amphibians
  • fish
  • eggs
  • carrion
  • insects
  • terrestrial non-insect arthropods
  • Plant Foods
  • leaves
  • seeds, grains, and nuts
  • fruit
  • flowers
  • bryophytes
  • algae

Predation

Predators of adults are not specifically recorded. Predation is usually found during hatching and fledging. The charging attack is the most exploited tactic to discourage predators from taking young. The adult charges an intruder with its head held down. If the predator is too large to fend off, common moorhens will often flee and hide. This species has also been observed remaining submerged in water in the presence of a threat. (Taylor, 1998)

Ecosystem Roles

Species Used as Host
  • Intraspecific parasitism: Host to its own species. (Taylor, 1998)

Economic Importance for Humans: Negative

In some areas of the world the common moorhens are seen as a pest to crops. This species is an opportunistic feeder, which makes use of grain for food. In some instances they will feed in groups in agricultural areas. (Taylor, 1998)

  • Negative Impacts
  • crop pest

Conservation Status

Common moorhens are currently endangered in Hawaii (Hawaiian common moorhen, Gallinula chloropus sandvicensis), Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands (Mariana common moorhen, Gallinula chloropus guami). In Hawaii this species was present on all five of the major islands, but is now only present on two. This is due to destruction and lack of good habitat for the birds. Other subspecies are not threatened or endangered. (Taylor, 1998; U.S. Fish and Wildlife, 2002). Common moorhens are listed as special concern in the state of Michigan. (Taylor, 1998)

Other Comments

This species is known to some as the Florida gallinule, or the common gallinule

Contributors

Matthew Nelson (author), University of Arizona, Todd McWhorter (editor), University of Arizona.

Glossary

Ethiopian

living in sub-Saharan Africa (south of 30 degrees north) and Madagascar.

World Map

Nearctic

living in the Nearctic biogeographic province, the northern part of the New World. This includes Greenland, the Canadian Arctic islands, and all of the North American as far south as the highlands of central Mexico.

World Map

Neotropical

living in the southern part of the New World. In other words, Central and South America.

World Map

Palearctic

living in the northern part of the Old World. In otherwords, Europe and Asia and northern Africa.

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acoustic

uses sound to communicate

agricultural

living in landscapes dominated by human agriculture.

bilateral symmetry

having body symmetry such that the animal can be divided in one plane into two mirror-image halves. Animals with bilateral symmetry have dorsal and ventral sides, as well as anterior and posterior ends. Synapomorphy of the Bilateria.

carrion

flesh of dead animals.

chemical

uses smells or other chemicals to communicate

diurnal
  1. active during the day, 2. lasting for one day.
dominance hierarchies

ranking system or pecking order among members of a long-term social group, where dominance status affects access to resources or mates

endothermic

animals that use metabolically generated heat to regulate body temperature independently of ambient temperature. Endothermy is a synapomorphy of the Mammalia, although it may have arisen in a (now extinct) synapsid ancestor; the fossil record does not distinguish these possibilities. Convergent in birds.

freshwater

mainly lives in water that is not salty.

iteroparous

offspring are produced in more than one group (litters, clutches, etc.) and across multiple seasons (or other periods hospitable to reproduction). Iteroparous animals must, by definition, survive over multiple seasons (or periodic condition changes).

marsh

marshes are wetland areas often dominated by grasses and reeds.

monogamous

Having one mate at a time.

motile

having the capacity to move from one place to another.

native range

the area in which the animal is naturally found, the region in which it is endemic.

omnivore

an animal that mainly eats all kinds of things, including plants and animals

oriental

found in the oriental region of the world. In other words, India and southeast Asia.

World Map

oviparous

reproduction in which eggs are released by the female; development of offspring occurs outside the mother's body.

riparian

Referring to something living or located adjacent to a waterbody (usually, but not always, a river or stream).

seasonal breeding

breeding is confined to a particular season

sedentary

remains in the same area

sexual

reproduction that includes combining the genetic contribution of two individuals, a male and a female

social

associates with others of its species; forms social groups.

suburban

living in residential areas on the outskirts of large cities or towns.

swamp

a wetland area that may be permanently or intermittently covered in water, often dominated by woody vegetation.

tactile

uses touch to communicate

temperate

that region of the Earth between 23.5 degrees North and 60 degrees North (between the Tropic of Cancer and the Arctic Circle) and between 23.5 degrees South and 60 degrees South (between the Tropic of Capricorn and the Antarctic Circle).

terrestrial

Living on the ground.

urban

living in cities and large towns, landscapes dominated by human structures and activity.

visual

uses sight to communicate

year-round breeding

breeding takes place throughout the year

young precocial

young are relatively well-developed when born

References

"U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Species Information" (On-line). Accessed April 02, 2002 at http://endangered.fws.gov/wildlife.html.

Davis, B. 1997. A Field Guide to Birds of the Desert Southwest. Houston, Texas: Gulf Publishing Company.

Taylor, B. 1998. Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World. United Kingdom: Yale University Press.

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