Measurements
Both Sexes
- Length
- 12.6–13.8 in
32–35 cm - Wingspan
- 21.3–24.4 in
54–62 cm - Weight
- 10.9–16.1 oz
310–456 g
Other Names
- Common Moorhen, Florida Gallinule
- Gallinule poule-d'eau, Poule d'eau (French)
- Pollo de agua, Gallareta frentirroja, Pollona negra (Spanish)
Cool Facts
- The Common Gallinule has long toes that makes it possible to walk on soft mud and floating vegetation. The toes have no lobes or webbing to help in swimming, but the moorhen is a good swimmer anyway.
- The Common Gallinule sometimes lifts its feet out of the water in front of the body while swimming, perhaps to pass over vegetation.
- Newly hatched chicks of the Common Gallinule have spurs on their wings that help them climb into the nest or grab emergent vegetation.
- Twelve subspecies of the Common Gallinule are recognized from around the world, most differing only in size or brightness of plumage. One subspecies is found only in the Hawaiian Islands and has been known as the Hawaiian Moorhen, or 'Alae 'Ula.
Habitat
Marsh
Freshwater or brackish marshes with tall emergent vegetation, ponds, canals, and rice fields.
Food
Plants
Seeds of grasses and sedges, and some snails.
Nesting
Nesting Facts
- Clutch Size
- 3–15 eggs
- Egg Description
- Gray or buff with variable speckles and splotches.
- Condition at Hatching
- Eyes open; covered with gray down except on head and wings.
Nest Description
A wide bowl of grasses and sedges, usually taken from near the nest site. Most commonly anchored to emergent vegetation within a meter of water.
Nest Placement
Floating
Behavior
Dabbler
Picks food from water surface or from emergent plants while walking or swimming. Dips head, dabbles, and occasionally dives. Flips floating leaves to take snails clinging to undersides.
Conservation
Least Concern
Listed as threatened or as a species of special concern in several Midwestern and Northeastern states because of loss of wetland habitat, predation by introduced mammals, and other factors.
Credits
- Bannor, B. K., and E. Kiviat. 2002. Common Moorhen (Gallinula chloropus). In The Birds of North America, No. 685 (A. Poole and F. Gill, eds.). The Birds of North America, Inc., Philadelphia, PA.