question for the twitchers

[hopless500]

Not convinced it's a moorhen, but I have consulted my birding guru (who is an ex-county recorder and now conducts birding tours for a living). I am waiting for him to get back with pearls of wisdom to impart to all.

 

[theclaud]

Not convinced it's a moorhen

I reckon you should be.

 

[EltonFrog]

It's a stealth Llama.

 

[Luddite Joe]

It's hard to tell its size from that picture.
It could be a spotted crake in moult.

 

[hopless500]

Just got the definitive answer - points to those who said juvenile moorhen

 

[theclaud]

"We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances. Therefore, to the same natural effects we must, so far as possible, assign the same causes."

In a pleasing cycling connection, I've just found out that there's a type of crake called a Sora! A rare North American vagrant. I suppose it could be one of those, if you discount all the most likely explanations for it looking like a juvenile moorhen, in a place where moorhens are very common and Spotted Crakes are rare and, er, spotted... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor#cite_note-Hawking-23

 

[laurence]

young moorhen

 

[laurence]

sorry, got here late, i was watching the geckos.

 

[deptfordmarmoset]

"We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances. Therefore, to the same natural effects we must, so far as possible, assign the same causes."

In a pleasing cycling connection, I've just found out that there's a type of crake called a Sora! A rare North American vagrant. I suppose it could be one of those, if you discount all the most likely explanations for it looking like a juvenile moorhen, in a place where moorhens are very common and Spotted Crakes are rare and, er, spotted...

So does this make Sora not a water rail but a water derailer?

 

[Cyclist33]

"We are to admit no more causes of natural things than such as are both true and sufficient to explain their appearances. Therefore, to the same natural effects we must, so far as possible, assign the same causes."

In a pleasing cycling connection, I've just found out that there's a type of crake called a Sora! A rare North American vagrant. I suppose it could be one of those, if you discount all the most likely explanations for it looking like a juvenile moorhen, in a place where moorhens are very common and Spotted Crakes are rare and, er, spotted... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Occam's_razor#cite_note-Hawking-23

yes i found that while researching this little beastie!

wonder if its named after the sound it makes when you shift?

 

[on the road]

Juvenile Coot perhaps?

 

[laurence]

nope... 100% juvenile moorhen... you can tell by the feet. moorhens have yellow/green spindly feet, coots have leafy feet as they are more aquatic. also, coots go black and white as juves - almost looking like young Great Crested Grebes - before turning to ugliness again (they are the ugliest baby birds).

coots do make impressive nests though, as your pic shows. shame they are such nasty pieces of work - incredibly aggressive, i've seen them attack herons, geese, swans - pretty much everything. sating that, i was attacked by a moorhen once, but i laughed so much it gave up.