loading...
A photo of a Dusky Moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa)
Dusky Moorhen

Dusky Moorhen

Gallinula tenebrosa

The dusky moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa) is a bird species in the rail family and is one of the eight extant species in the moorhen genus. It occurs in India, Australia, New Guinea, Borneo and Indonesia. It is often confused with the purple swamphen and the Eurasian coot due to similar appearance and overlapping distributions. They often live alongside birds in the same genus, such as the Tasmanian nativehen and the common moorhen. The dusky moorhen is a medium size bird, slightly smaller than the purple swamphen. The New Guinea birds are smaller, at 25–32 cm in length, than the Australian race 34–38 cm. The adult dusky moorhen is mainly dark grey-black, with a browner tinge to the upper parts. 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. The Australian subspecies is larger and pager than both other subspecies
Birda logo
Download Birda for free and join the community of curious everyday people connecting with the natural world
Birda logo
Download Birda for free and join the community

Dusky Moorhens on Birda

Photos

Sightings

A photo of a Dusky Moorhen photographed in St Paul's College Australia
Profile picture for Bumbletoes B
Bumbletoes B
Tuesday 19 Sep 2023 - 12:16am
Australia
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Leah Walsh
Leah Walsh
Monday 11 Sep 2023 - 5:22pm
Australia
A map showing the sighting location
🦢
Joe Hemmings
Monday 04 Sep 2023 - 2:43am
Australia
A map showing the sighting location
Profile picture for Matthew Jacobs
Matthew Jacobs
Saturday 02 Sep 2023 - 1:23am
Australia
Connect with nature,
Find your flock
Copyright © 2023 Chirp Birding Ltd. All rights reserved.