Gallinula chloropus · Irish: Cearc Uisce

A shy, red-billed wader of the reeds with a nervous flick of the tail.

Habitat: Ponds, lake margins, canals and rivers with waterside cover. | Season: All year

Identification

• Sooty-black plumage; red frontal shield, bill tipped yellow
• White flank stripe; white under the flicking tail

Behaviour

Constantly flicks its tail while swimming and bobs its head; can look duck-like but is in fact a rail, with long unwebbed toes for walking on floating vegetation.

Did you know?

Moorhen chicks can swim and dive within hours of hatching, and older chicks from an earlier brood sometimes help their parents feed and guard their younger brothers and sisters.

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