What is a moorhen? What’s the difference between a moorhen and a coot? What does a moorhen sound like and where do they live? In this BBC Countryfile Magazine guide we take a closer look at these attractive waterbirds.

By Dominic Couzens

Published: Friday, 03 February 2023 at 12:00 am

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The moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is most often seen swimming – but oddly for a waterbird, hardly to Olympic standard. In truth, this is an amphibious all-rounder.

It is often at the surface of the water, its long-toed, unwebbed feet giving it a laboured swimming style, its head bobbing with the effort.

Yet it also runs over mud and vegetation very easily and is perfectly capable of clambering around branches of trees, where it may roost at night.

Interested in learning more about British wildlife? Check out our guides to frogs and toads, wading birds and reptiles.

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What do moorhens look like?

The moorhen has a dark body – similar to that of a coot – but the colour of the bill instantly separates the species. The moorhen’s bill is orange with a yellow tip (but dull in juvenile birds), and it looks a little cheap and kitschy.

If you look closely, you’ll also spot a broken white line along the middle of the body, and brilliant white under the tail. The legs are pale green, but with saucy red garters. The bird is 30–38cm in size.

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Moorhen call

Listen out for the explosive “curruck” call, which gives the impression the moorhen has just been unexpectedly tickled.

Moorhen or coot?

The dark body of a moorhen is similar to that of a coot, but the colour of the bill instantly separates the species. The coot has a white bill and shield, whereas the moorhen’s is orange with a yellow tip. In contrast to coots, moorhens don’t normally dive.

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Moorhen habitat

The name moorhen is puzzling at first, until you realise that it derives from “Mere-hen”, a mere being a shallow pond or wetland. In such places, moorhens abound, often living quite secretive lives among thick vegetation.

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Moorhen diet

The moorhen feeds on a variety of items from berries and seeds to fish, crustaceans and spiders.

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Moorhen breeding, eggs and chicks

The moorhen’s lifestyle is full of surprises. Pairing up is decidedly fluid, and quite often includes polygamy and incest.

Moorhens also have the extraordinary, cuckoo-like habit of laying eggs in the nests of other birds, sometimes those of their own species, but also coots.

The nests and chicks are similar to those of coots. When moorhens are young, they sometimes help their parents with the care of the next brood of chicks.

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Moorhen distribution

There are 240,000 breeding pairs or moorhen in the UK (320,000 in winter). They are common and widespread.

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