Moorhen

Moorhen

Gallinula chloropus

All about moorhens

Moorhens have brown and bluey-black plumage with white raggedy stripes on the flanks, small red and yellow beaks with small red shields on their foreheads, and long, yellowish-green legs – like a chicken’s. They tend to nervously flick their tails when swimming, displaying white patches beneath.

They eat water plants, seeds, grasses, fruit, insects, snails, worms, and small fish. You can find moorhens in ponds, rivers, lakes, and streams – in coastal areas and urban areas too.  They make large, messy nests on the water which they defend ferociously.

Moorhen vs Coot

Moorhens are often mistaken for coots – and vice versa. Although moorhens, without the coot’s cumbersome lobed feet, are much more agile.

If you’re after an easy mnemonic to tell them apart – remember there’s is an R in mooRhen, and it’s the moorhen which has the Red beak. And you’ll find a T at the end of cooT, and a T towards the end of its whiTe beak and shield.

Conservation status

Moorhens are green listed in the UK  and while they may not be listed in the Solent’s Special Protection Areas but they are still important for the coastal ecosystem and form part of the waterbird assemblages for which these regions are protected.