19-9-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/201282-Gallinula-chloropus

17-6-2015 OLIVA MARJAL, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

A very familiar and widespread bird, the Moorhen can even be found in urban parks where there are streams, lakes or small ponds.

Distributed throughout England Wales, Ireland and south-east Scotland, Moorhens avoid high ground. British and Irish Moorhens are sedentary, occupying their lowland habitats year-round. In winter the population is swelled by birds migrating here from the Continent.

In addition to swimming well on water, Moorhens can often be seen foraging on grassy margins, when their white undertail is flicked as a prominent signal to others. Moorhen courtship and territoriality has been well studied owing to their abundance in and around University towns.

The species is omnivorous and opportunistic with a diet that consists of earthworms, crustaceans, mollusks, adult and larval insects (especially flies, mayflies, bugs, beetles, and butterflies), spiders, small fish, tadpoles, and occasionally birds eggs, algae, moss, aquatic plants, seeds, flowers, berries, and fruit.

IncubationMales and females share the task of incubating the eggs. After about 3 weeks, the chicks hatch. The young are able to swim soon after they hatch, but interestingly enough they lose this skill as they mature.Common moorhens breed from April to August. The female lays a clutch of 6–10 eggs, and may lay 2–3 clutches in a season.Fledging DurationAt 3 weeks of age, young chicks can forage for themselves. Most can fly by 7 weeks of age. The young, however, stay with their parents until the fall to help raise later broods.

29-8-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

1-9-2015 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

Common moorhens have predominantly black and brown plumage, with the exception of a white under-tail, white streaks on the flanks, yellow legs, and a red frontal shield. The bill is red with a yellow tip. The young are browner and lack the red shield. The frontal shield of the adult has a rounded top and fairly parallel sides; the tailward margin of the red unfeathered area is a smooth waving line.

Distinctive dark waterbird that resembles a cross between a duck and a chicken. Adults have a bright red bill with a yellow tip, while immatures have a duller bill and legs. Note big white oval patches under the tail, and white streaks along the flanks. Inhabits fresh and brackish marshes, on ponds, lakes, and along slow-moving watercourses with bordering vegetation. Smaller and more retiring than coot, and rarely far out on open water. Swims with jerky motion and walks with stealthy gait, the tail often slightly cocked; does not usually dive. Gives a variety of loud, somewhat frog-like calls.

28-7-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

24-7-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

21-6-2016 BIOPARC,VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

1-6-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

29-5-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

17-5-2016 OLIVA MARJAL - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

15-5-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

17-4-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

10-4-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

25-3-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

13-3-2015 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

Сommon moorhens are diurnal birds that spend their time swimming or walking along the shore. They forage beside or in the water, sometimes walking on lilypads or upending in the water to feed. They are often secretive but can become tame in some areas. Outside of the breeding season, Common moorhens prefer to spend their time alone; however, during the winter they may gather in groups to feed on sheltered lakes and ponds. To communicate with each other, these birds will give a wide range of gargling calls and will emit loud hisses when threatened.

Сommon moorhens are monogamous and territorial. They form pair-bonds that may last for several years. Pairs nest solitarily usually on top of thick mats of aquatic plants but may also nest in trees, shrubs, or on the ground in dense vegetation. Their nest is a wide shallow cup made with dead vegetation and lined with grass and leaves. Laying starts in spring, between mid-March and mid-May in Northern Hemisphere temperate regions. About 8 eggs are usually laid per female early in the season. Incubation lasts about three weeks. The chicks are precocial; they are hatched with eyes open and are covered in blackish down. Both parents incubate and feed the young. They fledge after 40-50 days, become independent usually a few weeks thereafter, and may raise their first brood the next spring.

11-3-2016 CATARROJA, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

4-3-2016 OLIVA MARSHES, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

1-3-2016 - VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

20-2-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA - EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)

25-1-2016 VILLALONGA RESERVOIR, VALENCIA -EUROPEAN MOORHEN (Gallinula chloropus)