Common Moorhen

• Females compete aggressively with one another for access to males.
• Chicks from the first brood usually help feed the young of later ones.
• It can swim shortly after hatching, though it partly loses the knack as it matures.

Skeleton type

Vertebrate - pneumatised bony skeleton (bird)

Habitat & environment

Well-vegetated freshwater wetlands — lakes, marshes, slow rivers and town parks — in Europe, Africa and Asia

Birth weight

11.3 grams

Size at birth

Precocial, covered in black down with a red face, able to swim soon after hatching though it partly loses that ability as it matures

Sexual maturity

1 year

Gestation / incubation

18-22 days

Litter / clutch size

2 to 17 eggs per clutch (5-9 most often), up to 2-3 times a year

Lifespan in captivity

Documented record of up to 10 years in captivity

Sources consulted: AnAge (genomics.senescence.info); Birds Wiki Fandom; Birda; EBSCO Research Starters; Animal Diversity Web; SeaWorld/Busch Gardens; Find a Bird BBA1; Connecticut DEEP

Best time: All year round on ponds, channels and vegetated banks; it is easier to see in winter, when the marsh vegetation is thinner.