View source for Moorhen

{{short description|Genus of birds}}
{{redirect|Gallinule|gallinules sometimes separated as genus Porphyrula|Swamphen}}
{{for|the game originally released in Germany as Moorhuhn|Crazy Chicken}}
{{distinguish|Moorfowl|Moorcock (disambiguation){{!}}Moorcock}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Moorhens
| fossil_range = [[Late Oligocene]] to recent
| image = Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) with worm.jpg
| image_caption = [[Common moorhen]] ''Gallinula chloropus''
| taxon = Gallinula
| authority = [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson|Brisson]], 1760
| type_species = ''[[Common moorhen|Fulica chloropus]]''
| type_species_authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758
| subdivision_ranks = [[Species]]
| subdivision =
see text
| synonyms          =
''Edithornis''<br>
''Pareudiastes''
}}

'''Moorhens''' are medium-sized water birds in the [[genus]] '''''Gallinula''''', Latin for 'little hen',<ref>''{{lang|la|Gallinula}}'' is the diminutive of ''{{lang|la|[[:wikt:gallina#Latin|gallīna]]}}'' ("hen"). They are also called '''gallinule''' in some (particularly older) zoological texts. {{OED|gallinule}}</ref> in the [[rail (bird)|rail]] [[family (biology)|family]] Rallidae. The genus currently includes seven species, of which one is extinct, and two others probably are.<ref name="IOC">{{cite web | title=Finfoots, flufftails, rails, trumpeters, cranes, Limpkin – IOC World Bird List | website=IOC World Bird List – Version 15.1 | date=2025-02-20 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/flufftails/ | access-date=2025-11-17}}</ref> Three species formerly included in ''Gallinula'' have been found to have enough differences to be placed in two separate but closely related genera, ''[[Paragallinula]]'' (with one species, [[lesser moorhen]] ''Paragallinula angulata''), and ''[[Tribonyx]]'', the two native hens of Australia;<ref name="Garcia">{{cite journal | last1=Garcia-R | first1=Juan C. | last2=Lemmon | first2=Emily Moriarty | last3=Lemmon | first3=Alan R. | last4=French | first4=Nigel | title=Phylogenomic Reconstruction Sheds Light on New Relationships and Timescale of Rails (Aves: Rallidae) Evolution | journal=Diversity | volume=12 | issue=2 | date=2020-02-07 | issn=1424-2818 | doi=10.3390/d12020070 | doi-access=free | page=70}}</ref> ''Tribonyx'' differs visually by shorter, thicker and stubbier toes and bills, and longer tails that lack the white signal pattern of typical moorhens.<ref name = boles2005>Boles (2005)</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Parks & Wildlife Service - Native Hen, Tribonyx Mortierii|url=http://www.parks.tas.gov.au/?base=5126|access-date=22 November 2018|website=Parks & Wildlife Service|publisher=[[Tasmania Parks and Wildlife Service]]}}</ref> The moorhens are also close relatives of the [[coot]]s (''Fulica''),<ref name="Garcia"/> but the [[swamphens]] (''Porphyrio''), formerly also thought to be close relatives, are now known to be less closely related.<ref name="Garcia"/>

==Description==
[[File:Gallinula chloropus Moorhens fighting.JPG|thumb|left|[[Common moorhen]]s fighting]]
These rails are dumpy, compact birds with mostly brown and black with some white markings in their [[plumage]]; they range from 25–40&nbsp;cm long. The bills are red, mostly with a yellow tip, and the legs are yellowish-green to yellowish-orange; the toes are long, but not webbed, nor lobed as in [[coot]]s. Unlike many of the rails, they are usually easy to see because they feed 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 {{convert|2,000|km|abbr=on}} from some of its breeding areas in the colder parts of Siberia. Those that migrate do so at night. The [[Gough moorhen]] on the other hand is considered almost flightless; it can only flutter some metres. As is common in [[rail (bird)|rail]]s, there has been a marked tendency to [[evolution|evolve]] [[flightless bird|flightlessness]] in island populations.

Moorhens can walk well on their strong legs, and the long toes are well adapted to soft uneven surfaces. They can swim well, despite the lack of webs on the toes.

These birds are [[omnivorous]], consuming plant material, small rodents, amphibians and [[Egg (biology)|egg]]s. They are aggressively territorial during the breeding season, but are otherwise often found in flocks on the shallow vegetated lakes they prefer.

==Systematics and evolution==
The [[genus]] ''Gallinula'' was introduced by the French zoologist [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson]] in 1760 with the [[common moorhen]] (''Gallinula chloropus'') as the [[type species]].<ref>{{ cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode Contenant la Division des Oiseaux en Ordres, Sections, Genres, Especes & leurs Variétés | language=fr, la | at=[https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36010448 Vol. 1, p. 50], [https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36210808 Vol. 6, p. 2] | place=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche }}</ref><ref>{{ cite book | editor-last=Peters | editor-first=James Lee | editor-link=James L. Peters | year=1934 | title=Check-list of Birds of the World | volume=2 | publisher=Harvard University Press | place=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=202 | url=https://biodiversitylibrary.org/page/14483015 }}</ref>

===Species===
The genus contains five extant, one recently extinct, and two possibly extinct species.<ref name="IOC"/>
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Common name !! Scientific name !! Distribution and notes
|-
|[[File:Dusky moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa tenebrosa) Sydney.jpg|150px]] ||[[Dusky moorhen]] || ''Gallinula tenebrosa'' <small>Gould, 1846</small> || Australia, New Guinea, southeastern Indonesia, [[New Caledonia]]
|-
|[[File:Gallinula galeata cachinnans Everglades.jpg|150px]] ||[[Common gallinule]] || ''Gallinula galeata'' <small>(Lichtenstein, 1818)</small> || Americas, including [[Bermuda]], [[Galápagos Islands|Galápagos]], and Hawaii
|-
|[[File:Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus).jpg|150px]] ||[[Common moorhen|Common&nbsp;moorhen]] || ''Gallinula chloropus'' <small>(Linnaeus, 1758)</small> || Europe, Asia, Africa, [[Macaronesia]]; widespread
|-
|[[File:GallinulaNesiotusJury.jpg|150px]] ||†[[Tristan moorhen]] || ''Gallinula nesiotis'' <small>P. L. Sclater, 1861</small> || [[Tristan da Cunha]], extinct (late 19th century). Formerly sometimes placed in ''{{vanchor|Porphyriornis}}''.<ref>{{cite book|last=Taylor|first=Barry|title=Rails: A Guide to Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e_bUBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA490|year=2010|publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing|isbn=978-1-4081-3538-9|page=490}}</ref>)
|-
|[[File:Gallinula comeri Beintema.jpg|150px]] ||[[Gough moorhen]] || ''Gallinula comeri'' <small>J. A. Allen, 1892</small> || [[Gough Island]] off Tristan da Cunha. Introduced on Tristan da Cunha as ecological replacement for extinct ''G. nesiotis''. Formerly sometimes placed in ''Porphyriornis''.
|-
| ||[[Makira woodhen]] || ''Gallinula silvestris'' <small>(Mayr, 1933)</small> || [[Makira]] (Solomon Islands), extremely rare with no direct observations in recent decades, but still considered likely extant due to reports of the species persisting in small numbers. Sometimes placed in ''Pareudiastes'' or ''Edithornis''.
|-
|[[File:PareudiastesPacificusSmit (cropped).jpg|150px]] ||[[Samoan woodhen]] || ''Gallinula&nbsp;pacifica''&nbsp;<small>(Hartlaub&nbsp;&&nbsp;Finsch,&nbsp;1871)</small> || [[Samoa]], possibly extinct (1907?). Sometimes placed in ''Pareudiastes''.
|-
|}

Species formerly included in the genus:
*[[Lesser moorhen]] ''Paragallinula angulata''
*[[Black-tailed nativehen]] ''Tribonyx ventralis''
*[[Tasmanian nativehen]] ''Tribonyx mortierii''

Other moorhens have been described from older remains. Apart from the 1–2 extinctions in more recent times, another 1–4 species have become extinct as a consequence of early human settlement; a species close to the [[Samoan moorhen]] from [[Buka, Papua New Guinea|Buka]], [[Solomon Islands (archipelago)|Solomon Islands]], which is almost certainly distinct from the [[Makira moorhen]], as the latter cannot fly. The undescribed [[Viti Levu gallinule]] of [[Fiji]] would either be separated in ''Pareudiastes'' if that genus is considered valid, or may be a completely new genus. Similarly, the undescribed "swamphen" of [[Mangaia]], currently tentatively assigned to ''[[Porphyrio]]'', may belong to ''Gallinula'' or ''Pareudiastes''.

===Evolution===
[[File:Badge of HMS Moorhen.JPG|thumb|upright|Badge of [[HMS Moorhen|HMS ''Moorhen'']]]]
Still older fossils document the genus since the [[Late Oligocene]] onwards. The genus seems to have originated in the [[Southern Hemisphere]], in the general region of Australia.{{cn|date=November 2025}} By the [[Pliocene]], it was probably distributed worldwide:
* ''Gallinula'' sp. (Early Pliocene of Hungary and Germany)
* ''Gallinula kansarum'' (Late Pliocene of Kansas, USA)
* ''Gallinula balcanica'' (Late Pliocene<ref>Middle [[Villafranchian]]</ref> of Varshets, Bulgaria).<ref>Boev, Z. 1999. ''Gallinula balcanica'' sp. n. (Rallidae: Gruiformes) - a middle villafranchian moorhen from Western Bulgaria. - Acta zoologica bulgarica, 51 (1): 43-48.</ref><!-- Ardeola51:91 -->
* ''Gallinula gigantea'' (Early Pleistocene of Czech Republic and Israel)

The ancient ''"Gallinula" disneyi'' (Late Oligocene&mdash;Early Miocene of Riversleigh, Australia) has been separated as genus ''[[Australlus]]''.

Even among non-[[Passeriformes]], this genus has a long documented existence. Consequently, some unassigned fragmentary rail fossils might also be from moorhens or native hens. For example, specimen [[Queensland Museum|QM]] F30696, a left [[Anatomical terms of location#Proximal and distal|distal]] [[tibiotarsus]] piece from the Oligo-Miocene boundary at [[Australian Fossil Mammal Sites (Riversleigh)|Riversleigh]], is similar to but differs in details from ''"G." disneyi''.<ref name = boles2005 /> It cannot be said if this bird&mdash;if a distinct species&mdash;was flightless. From size alone, it might have been an ancestor of ''G. mortierii'' (see also below).

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commons category multi|Gallinula|Rallidae}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20141202060419/http://aulaenred.ibercaja.es/wp-content/uploads/152_MoorhenGchloropus.pdf Identification guide (PDF) by Javier Blasco-Zumeta]

{{Gruiformes|R.|state=collapsed}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q853653}}

[[Category:Gallinula|*]]
[[Category:Rails| ]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]