The common moorhen is a medium-sized member of the rail family found in aquatic environments. It is 12-15 inches (30.5-38.1 cm) in length and has a wingspan of 20-24 inches (50-62 cm).
It has gray-black feathers and a red bill with a yellow tip. It has white stripes on its sides and long chicken-like toes that help it walk on top of floating vegetation and mud. Males and females are similar, but males are a little larger.
The common moorhen lives in freshwater and brackish marshes, lakes, canals, and ponds with cattails and other aquatic vegetation.
The common moorhen is omnivorous and feeds while walking on plants or while floating on the water. It swims across the water, scooping up floating seeds and other plant materials from the surface. It also dives to gather the seeds, leaves, and roots of aquatic plants.
On land, it walks with a high-stepping gait and pecks at the ground like a chicken. It also eats algae, small fish, tadpoles, insects, berries, grass, snails, and worms.
The male moorhen courts the female by bringing her water weeds and fanning out his tail. The male and the female form a monogamous pair.
The pair builds several nests in their territory. The nest is bowl-shaped and made of twigs, cattail and bulrush stems, and grass and sedges. It is lined with leaves and other plants. The nest is built within a few feet of the water, and sometimes it is even built on floating plants in the water. The moorhen may pull down plants growing around the nest to provide a protective cover for the nest. Because they are so close to the water, moorhen nests are often lost to flooding.
The female common moorhen lays 4-12 eggs at a rate of one egg per day. The eggs hatch in 17-22 days. The chicks are precocial and leave the nest and feed themselves within a few days of birth. Once all the chicks leave the nest, they use the extra nests to sleep in at night. Both parents care for the chicks. The chicks fledge in about 5-7 weeks. The mating pair may raise more than one brood in a season, using the same nests.
The common moorhen has a lifespan of 1-5 years in the wild. Many birds die young due to predation.
When the common moorhen swims, it bobs its head back and forth. It is a better swimmer and walker than flier, although in some parts of its range, it does migrate long distances.
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The common moorhen breeds in New Hampshire and can be found in the coastal areas and wetlands of southeastern New Hampshire.
In the western United States, the common moorhen breeds in California, New Mexico, Nevada, and Arizona.
In the eastern United States and Canada, it breeds from Minnesota to New Brunswick and south to the Gulf Coast and Florida.
In the United States, the moorhen winters in California and Arizona, along the Gulf Coast, and on the East Coast from Virginia to Florida.
It is also found in South America, Europe, and parts of Asia and Africa.
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