- Gallinula chloropus
Description
Widespread and generally very common bird in the Western Palearctic. Breeds from the British Isles and Iberia east to the Urals and Caspian Sea. In the north breeds around coastal Norway as far as about 66�N, in the southern half of Sweden and extreme south Finland. In the south breeds around the Mediterranean, on the Balearics, Corsica and Sardinia, Sicily, Crete, Cyprus and some of the Aegean islands and has bred on Malta. Also breeds at very scattered localities in the Canaries and North-West Africa, in the Nile Valley and in parts of western and southern Turkey, the Middle East and Iraq. Formerly bred on the Cape Verde Islands.
Populations from central Europe eastwards are migratory, wintering in South-West Asia or Africa, the remainder are resident or partially migratory. Also resident are small populations on Terceira and possibly Sao Miguel in the Azores, and a scarce but increasing resident on some of the Canary Islands.
Vagrant north to Svalbard, Iceland and the Faroes in the north and Madeira in the south.
Habitat:
Virtually any kind of freshwaters: marshlands and swamps, lakeshores and riverbanks, often in urban parks. Frequently feeds on grass adjacent to water.
Identification
Widespread and generally very common bird in the Western Palearctic. Breeds from the British Isles and Iberia east to the Urals and Caspian Sea. In the north breeds around coastal Norway as far as about 66�N, in the southern half of Sweden and extreme south Finland. In the south breeds around the Mediterranean, on the Balearics, Corsica and Sardinia, Sicily, Crete, Cyprus and some of the Aegean islands and has bred on Malta. Also breeds at very scattered localities in the Canaries and North-West Africa, in the Nile Valley and in parts of western and southern Turkey, the Middle East and Iraq. Formerly bred on the Cape Verde Islands.
Populations from central Europe eastwards are migratory, wintering in South-West Asia or Africa, the remainder are resident or partially migratory. Also resident are small populations on Terceira and possibly Sao Miguel in the Azores, and a scarce but increasing resident on some of the Canary Islands.
Vagrant north to Svalbard, Iceland and the Faroes in the north and Madeira in the south.
Habitat Virtually any kind of freshwaters: marshlands and swamps, lakeshores and riverbanks, often in urban parks. Frequently feeds on grass adjacent to water
Bird Song
<flashmp3>Gallinula chloropus (song).mp3</flashmp3>
Listen in an external program
