Saturday, December 3, 2011

Common Moorhen

For my Camera Critters I am showing the Common Moorhen we saw in Panama.

My link for  Panama Skyscrapers..Scenic Sunday

Common Moorhens are water birds and sometimes called Marsh Hens. In Panama, we saw both the Common Moorhen and a similiar looking bird called the Wattled Jacana. If it were not for our birding guide I would have mistaken the Wattled Jacana for the Common Moorhen. They do look alike except some coloring on the wings and leg color of the Jacana. The Wattled Jacana has blue-grey legs while the Common Moorhen has yellow legs. They both have the yellow bill with the red head shield. I was thinking my photo was the Comon Moorhen but looking at the color of the legs I am not so sure. The photo could be the Wattled Jacana afterall?


Here is a link to Wikipedia's Wattled Jacana Wattled Jacana  I was not able to get a clear shot. But, I was able to see and add the Wattled Jacana to my life list.


Can you find the two Moorhens, in the shot above? They like to hop around lily pads. And they pick up insects off the floating vegetation.

For more comparison photos here is a link to another of my post on the magee-marsh..Common Moorhen.
Another bird we saw in the same area as the Moorhen/Jacana was the Green Heron.



The Green heron will always be one of my favorite herons.

I hope you enjoyed my critter post and to see more cute and wonderful critters please visit Camera Critters.  Thanks to Misty Dawn for hosting Camera Critters. And thanks for stopping by to see my post. Have a safe and happy weekend.  Happy Birding!!!!

28 comments:

rainfield61 said...

The green Heron is not as green as I thought.

And it is staring at me asking me why I have this thought.

Kerri Farley said...

Almost missed one of the moorhens in the one that shot ..... they blend in even with their coloring.

LOVE the Green Heron - one of my faves too :)

DeniseinVA said...

Fascinating and wonderful post Eileen.

Indrani said...

The green heron looks lonely and sad. Great captures.

wildcatwoods said...

Wonderful shots...as always!

Carolina Mts

TexWisGirl said...

the moorhens are so cute! and i love the green herons too!

Phil Slade said...

Nice shot of the heron Eileen - if only rails would pose up like herons instead of scuttling about in vegeatation it would make life easier for us birders.

Jen Sanford said...

Very nice! The only moorhens I have seen were in Hawaii, but they definitely had bright yellow legs (easily seen in murky water). So I would agree that it looks like you might have a jacana in that first photo!

Anonymous said...

The green heron does have a bit of a green tinted head.
It took me several moments to find the second moorhen!

Andrea said...

The migrating moorhens we see here are like your last photo but with more greyish color. I am not reading much about them, and i don't know where they go after stopping over here in some of our swamps!

Al said...

Nice bird shots. Sometimes I'd like to learn more about birds, so I recently downloaded an old book about our area birds onto my Nook. Luckily birds don't change much so it should still be valid!

mick said...

Nice photos. The first one is especially good with the drops of water on the lily pads and the bird as well.

Bob Bushell said...

The Green Heron is my favourite, cheers Eileen.

CameraCruise said...

Beautiful shots of the moorhens and heron.
Thanks for sharing.
I've never seen moorhens.
Have a great weekend.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful shots of the avian kind!

Snap said...

Your trip to Panama must have been wonderful! Enjoyed this post and your feathered friends. Happy Critter Day!

Chubskulit Rose said...

Gorgeous! Love that first shot.


Fun shots with the Cardinal at the park. Have a lovely weekend!

Dianne said...

I've never seen a green heron before
beautiful

Leovi said...

Beautiful photos, the third is my favorite, good shots.

Lina Gustina said...

You've captured these birds beautifully, Eileen

Have a great weekend :)

www.1sthappyfamily.com

Anonymous said...

Wonderful shots. That green heron is gorgeous.

Francisca said...

Those feet on the Wattled Jacana are amazing... and the green heron sure is handsome.

Arlene said...

Been vicariously enjoying your Panama trip photos, Eileen! Was there many years ago, must go again after seeing these.

Hootin Anni said...

I too love to spot a green heron in the bogs along the island's off beaten paths.

Beautiful photos.

My Sunday Blog post link is: If a Tree Falls in the Swamp -do you hear it?

Hope you're having a glorious day!!

Ingrid Andrea said...

Tank you for your comment on my blog! And thank you for sharing this, now I learned much about moorhens and herons :) Beautiful photos!

Greetings from Norway,©Ingrid Andrea

laurak/ForestWalkArt :) said...

the moorhens need some better 'camo' oif they don't want to be spotted in the lily pads!! the red on their heads give them away!! :) great shots!! such beautiful birds!

the green heron...looks so lonely...standing there...like he's wondering where everyone went, and why is this woman taking a picture of me when i feel so sad.... haha!

Jennifer @ Town and Country Living said...

Such pretty birds! Thanks for visiting my blog.

eden said...

They are beautiful birds. Great shots.

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