Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa
Sydney and Melbourne Botanic Gardens. Various dates.

The Dusky Moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa occurs in Australia, New Guinea and Indonesia. New Guinea birds are smaller, at 25-32cm in length, than the Australian race (35-40 cm, 55-65 cm wingspan). In Indonesia, it is losing ground to the closely related Common Moorhen Gallinula chloropus on those islands where both birds occur.

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-green legs.

Sydney, March 2008

 

Sydney, April 2004

 

Sydney, April 2004

 

Melbourne, August 2005

 

Melbourne, August 2005

 

Sydney, February 2006

 

Sydney, February 2006

 

Juvenile. Sydney, March 2008

All photographs copyright Charlie Moores.