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Lesser Moorhen - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by van_ellus
St. Lucia Wetlands, South Africa, February 2004
Paragallinula angulata

Gallinula angulata

Identification

Length 22-27 cm; mass 92-164 g. Smaller than Common Moorhen; The bill is mostly yellow (red with yellow tip in Common Moorhen) and the white flank feathers are less conspicuous than in Common Moorhen.

Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa.

Taxonomy

This is a monotypic species[1].

Has been paced in genus Gallinula in the past.

Habitat

Aquatic habitats; favours wetlands with dense emergent grasses, such as flooded grassland.

Behaviour

Shy; usually heard rather than seen.

Vocalisation

A hollow do do do do do do.

Breeding

Monogamous and territorial. The nest is built on a platform of live grass and sedges; it is a grass cup, usually about 150 mm above the water surface. Four to nine eggs are incubated for 19-20 days by the female.

References

  1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
  2. Hockey, PAR, WRJ Dean, and PG Ryan, eds. 2005. Roberts' Birds of Southern Africa. 7th ed. Cape Town: John Voelcker Bird Book Fund. ISBN 978-0620340533
  3. Sinclair, I and P Ryan. 2003. Birds of Africa South of the Sahara. Princeton: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691118154
  4. Sangster, G., García-R, J.C. & Trewick, S.A. (2015): A new genus for the Lesser Moorhen Gallinula angulata Sundevall, 1850 (Aves, Rallidae). European Journal of Taxonomy 153: 1–8.


Recommended Citation

External Links

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

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