Dusky moorhen

Dusky Moorhen

Template:Regnum:	Animalia
Template:Phylum:	Chordata
Template:Classis:	Aves
Template:Ordo:	Gruiformes
Template:Familia:	Rallidae
Template:Genus:	Gallinula
[[{{{1}}}{{{2}}} {{{3}}}\|{{{1}}}. {{{3}}}]]:	tenebrosa

Binomial name

Gallinula tenebrosa
Gould, 1846

The Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa) is a bird in the rail family which occurs in Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia.

The New Guinea birds are smaller, at 25-32cm in length, than the Australian race (35-40 cm, 55-65 cm wingspan). In Indonesia, this species is loosing ground to the closely related Common Moorhen on those islands where both birds occur.

The adult Dusky Moorhen is mainly dark grey-black, with a browner tinge to the upperparts. It has a red frontal shield and yellow-tipped red bill like its Eurasian relative, but lacks the white flank line shown by Common Moorhen, and has orange-yellow rather than yellow legs.

Sexes are similar, but young birds have mid-brown plumage. This is a noisy species with a loud kruk call.

Dusky Moorhen is found in wetland habitats, with a preference for freshwater marshes. It will forage on rubbish tips, and is generally omnivorous, taking a wide variety of plant and animal food.

This species builds a bulky nest at the water's edge, and lays 5-18 whitish eggs. It is teritorial when breeding, but otherwise gregarious.

Reference

Rails by Taylor and van Perlo, ISBN 90-74345-20-4