Two more shots of Moorhens to go along with my previous post "Laughing Moorhens"
The above two images are of British birds, taken at the Swiss Gardens, Beds, 2nd December 2008. Note the shape and size of the frontal shield. This birds shield is much smaller than the Brazilian and Madagascan individuals, and has a rounded top edge, very different from the square edge of the other birds. European birds also look smaller in stature with a bronzier sheen to their wings and flanks.
So, Moorhens then. A common bird across the world, but are they all the same 'species'? Martin Garners book "Frontiers in Birding" has a chapter all about sorting out Moorhens from the States. However, he only mentions that cachinnans (or Laughing Moorhen in the book) has a range from North America down to Mexico and Central America, Bermuda and the West Indes, with a winter range sporaically to South America If this is true what are the birds breeding throughout South America - are they cachinnans too? (I will have to look this up.)
These images are of some Moorhens at REGUA in the Atlantic rainforests of Brazil. They have a deeper voice, look a little bigger and also have a squarer top to their sheild:
