Common Moorhen

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Common Moorhen
Photo by William L. Newton
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Cornell University

The most widely distributed member of the rail family, the Common Moorhen inhabits marshes and ponds from Canada to Chile, from northern Europe to southern Africa, and across Asia to the Pacific. Vocal and boldly marked, the species can be quite conspicuous, sometimes using its long toes to walk atop floating vegetation.

Habitat
Freshwater or brackish marshes with tall emergent vegetation, ponds, canals, and rice fields.

Food
Seeds of grasses and sedges, and some snails.

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