Either of two species of rail of the genus Gallinula, especially the moorhen, common gallinule, or Florida gallinule (Gallinula chloropus), found worldwide; also the lesser or little moorhen (Gallinula angulata), found in sub-Saharan Africa; long legs and toes; inhabit water margins; related to coots.
| iMoorhens | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Common Moorhen |
||||||||||||
| Scientific classification | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Species | ||||||||||||
|
Samoan Wood Rail, Gallinula pacifica (sometimes placed in genus Pareudiastes, extinct?) Makira Wood Rail, Gallinula silvestris (sometimes placed in genus
Pareudiastes or Edithornis, extinct?) Tristan Moorhen, Gallinula nesiotis (extinct) Gough Island Moorhen, Gallinula comeri Common Moorhen, Gallinula
chloropus Dusky Moorhen, Gallinula tenebrosa Lesser Moorhen, Gallinula angulata Spot-flanked Gallinule, Gallinula melanops Black-tailed Native-hen, Gallinula
ventralis Tasmanian Native-hen, Gallinula mortierii
For prehistoric taxa, see article text. |
||||||||||||
| Synonyms | ||||||||||||
|
Edithornis |
The moorhens are medium-sized water birds which are members of the rail family Rallidae.
User Comments Add a comment…