menu

Common Moorhen
Gallinula chloropus
species of Rallidae


img. 1903 © Barbara Nannen

img. 1214 © Jo Kuyken

img. 1215 © Jo Kuyken
1st cy
number longest lengths distribution of longest primary smallest individual biggest individual
primary 10 per wing 130.0 - 164.5mm n=11
P8 (45%) P7 (36%) P8=P7 (18%)
1962
secondary 13-14 per wing 98.5 - 128.0mm n=10
S9 (80%) S10 (10%) S1 (10%)
1962
retrix 12
77.5 - 98.5mm n=8
R1 (38%) R3 (38%) R2 (25%)
11875
wing length1 hand-wing-index1,2 (HWI) primaries-index wing length/longest primary ratio hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio
142 - 186mm n=11 28 - 36% n=9 22 - 28% n=10 ⌀125% no data available
detailed information

The wing length is measured on the flattened and straightened wing ("maximum chord") from the carpal joint to the tip of the longest primary feather, the so-called "Kleinschmidt-method".

combined data from:
Avonet1: 142 - 186mm n=10
Featherbase: 166 - 166mm n=1

The hand-wing-index, introduced by Kipp 1959, is calculated as the ratio of the hand length (difference between the length of the longest primary and the first secondary) to the wing length.

combined data from:
Avonet1: 28 - 36% n=9,
The primaries-index is calculated as the ratio of the longest primary feather length to the first (outermost) secondary. It is the equivalent of the hand-wing index for feather measurements. The wing length/longest primary ratio is calculated as the ratio of the wing length to the length of the longest primary feather. The hand-wing-index/primaries-index ratio is calculated as the ratio of the hand-wing index to the primaries-index.
1 Tobias, J. A., et al. (2022). AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds.
2 Kipp, Friedrich A.: "Der Handflügel-Index als flugbiologisches Maß", erschienen in "Vogelwarte - Zeitschrift für Vogelkunde", 1959, Band 20, Heft 1



2nd cy
ad. female
specimens gallery

country allocations

extant

Afghanistan · Albania · Algeria · Angola · Armenia · Austria · Azerbaijan · Bahrain · Bangladesh · Belarus · Belgium · Benin · Bosnia and Herzegovina · Botswana · Brunei Darussalam · Bulgaria · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cambodia · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · China · Comoros · Congo · Congo, The Democratic Republic of the · Côte d'Ivoire · Croatia · Cyprus · Czechia · Denmark · Djibouti · Egypt · Eritrea · Estonia · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Faroe Islands (vagrant) · Finland · France · Gambia · Georgia · Germany · Ghana · Gibraltar (vagrant) · Greece · Greenland (vagrant) · Guam · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Hong Kong · Hungary · Iceland (vagrant) · India · Indonesia · Iran, Islamic Republic of · Iraq · Ireland · Israel · Italy · Japan · Jordan · Kazakhstan · Kenya · Korea, Democratic People's Republic of · Korea, Republic of · Kuwait · Kyrgyzstan · Lao People's Democratic Republic · Latvia · Lebanon · Lesotho · Liberia · Libya · Liechtenstein · Lithuania · Luxembourg · Macao · Madagascar · Malawi · Malaysia · Maldives · Mali · Malta · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mayotte · Micronesia, Federated States of · Moldova, Republic of · Mongolia · Montenegro · Morocco · Mozambique · Myanmar · Namibia · Nepal · Netherlands · Niger · Nigeria · North Macedonia · Northern Mariana Islands · Norway · Oman · Pakistan · Palau · Palestine, State of · Philippines · Poland · Portugal · Qatar · Réunion · Romania · Russian Federation · Rwanda · Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha · Sao Tome and Principe · Saudi Arabia · Senegal · Serbia · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Singapore · Slovakia · Slovenia · Somalia · South Africa · Spain · Sri Lanka · Sudan · Svalbard and Jan Mayen (vagrant) · Sweden · Switzerland · Syrian Arab Republic · Taiwan, Province of China · Tajikistan · Tanzania, United Republic of · Thailand · Togo · Tunisia · Türkiye · Turkmenistan · Uganda · Ukraine · United Arab Emirates · United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland · Uzbekistan · Viet Nam · Yemen · Zambia · Zimbabwe ·

extinct post-1500

Equatorial Guinea ·
source: IUCN 2025. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2025-1 <www.iucnredlist.org>
assessment data: |

Rails and cranes

distribution

conservation status

  • CITES
    not listed
  • Regulation (EG) Nr. 865/2006
    not listed
  • German Federal Nature Conservation Act §44
    strictly protected