Breeding Location:
Marshes, freshwater, Reservoirs, Fields, flooded agricultural
Breeding Type:
Monogamous, Solitary to semicolonial
Breeding Population:
Egg Color:
Buff with red brown or olive spots
Number of Eggs:
2 - 13
Incubation Days:
18 - 21
Egg Incubator:
Both sexes
Nest Material:
Dead vegetation lined with grass and leaves.
Migration:
Some migrate
Overview
Common Moorhen: Medium, chicken-like marsh bird with gray-brown back and slate-gray head, neck, breast, and belly. Upper flanks show distinct white line. Yellow-tipped red bill is short with red frontal plate extending onto forehead. Tail is white below. Long legs and unwebbed feet are yellow-green.
Range and Habitat
Common Moorhen: Breeds over much of North America through Central America and northern South America. Spends winters from the southern Atlantic states to South America. Prefers habitat with large areas of open water; common near reservoirs, ponds, freshwater marshes, and flooded grasslands.
Breeding and Nesting
Common Moorhen: Two to thirteen buff eggs with red brown or olive spots are laid in a well-rimmed cup nest constructed of dead vegetation and lined with grass and leaves. Nest is usually located over the water and anchored to stems of emergent vegetation, but is occasionally built on the ground or in a low shrub. Both parents incubate the eggs for 18 to 21 days.
Foraging and Feeding
Common Moorhen: Feeds on freshwater plants, seeds, and small invertebrates. Forages while swimming or and walking in shallows or atop floating vegetation; active day and night. Swallows sand and gravel to help grind food.
Readily Eats
Vocalization
Common Moorhen: Makes loud, hen-like squeaks, clucks, screams and a single, explosive, frog-like "kup."
Similar Species
Common Moorhen: American Coot is darker, has pale bill, and lacks white line on flanks.
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