SPECIES PROFILE
AFTER the mallard, the most common waterbird in the UK is the moorhen (Gallinula chloropus). During the winter its population here more than doubles, owing to the influx of birds from Scandinavia and elsewhere on the Continent. This is one of the most widespread birds in the world and occurs in every country in Europe, as well as throughout Asia, Africa and the Americas.
The moorhen has acquired numerous names that give no clue to its family ties. Although it is well distributed over much of Britain, it avoids high ground and is absent from the northern parts of Scotland. Moors, in fact, are not its habitat. The “moor” in “moorhen” is likely to be a corruption of “mere”, which once meant a marsh or
