Short Description
The moorhen is black to blue-grey with dark-brown wings and white flanks. Characteristic features are the striking red front plate and the red bill with a bright yellow tip. The legs are green-yellow.
Features
Common moorhen
Gallinula chloropus
red front plate and bill
yellow-tipped bill
Rufreihe
Frommolt, CC BY-SA 3.0
In the city
Moorhens can be found on park ponds with dense vegetation along the banks as well as in zoos and gardens with sufficiently large bodies of water and suitable vegetation along the banks.
Fun Facts
Moorhens are omnivores. Their range of foods is largely determined by their respective habitats.
Moorhen pairs can stay together for several years. They can be observed caring for each other’s plumage.
They are good climbers and divers.
Moorhens can be observed in these parts from early March to October. For the winter, they move to Mediterranean countries. However, some moorhens also hibernate in Germany.
- Endangerment level Germany: Warning list
Sources
Habitus , Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Common-Moorhen.jpg
Jungtier, Milvus, CC BY-SA 2.5, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gallinula_chloropus_young.jpg
Habitus , Monkey Boy, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gallinula_chloropus_meridionalis_Modderfontein.jpg
Witt, K. & Steiof, K. (2013) Rote Liste und Liste der Brutvögel von Berlin, 3. version, 15.11.2013. : Berliner Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V. (eds.) Berliner Ornithologischer Bericht, volume 23, Berlin: Berliner Ornithologische Arbeitsgemeinschaft e.V., 1-23.
Page „Teichralle“. : Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Date of last revision: 19.08.2015, 14:16 UTC. URL: https://de.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Teichralle&oldid=145194223 (Accessed: 18.02.2016).
Steiner, A. (2016) Teichhuhn, Teichralle - Gallinula chloropus LINNAEUS, 1758, URL: http://www.natur-in-nrw.de/HTML/Tiere/Voegel/TV-124.html (Accessed: 14.09.2016).
Tierdoku (2012) Teichhuhn, URL: http://tierdoku.com/index.php?title=Teichhuhn (Accessed: 14.09.2016).