Common Moorhen

Here is a Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus.  This bird species is amazingly widespread around the world: Africa, Europe, Asia - and with either a subspecies or a very closely related species in North America.  It's a member of the Rail Family, the Rallidae.  It occurs in and around many kinds of wetland, and it eats vegetation as well as small critters which it can catch while swimming in the water or clambering about the riverside vegetation.  

Moorhen chicks are funny little things, with black down covering their bodies except for bare patches on their heads showing red and bluish skin. Their orange-red, yellow-tipped bills are prominent. They also have bare 'wings' that look like little arms with two, pointed 'fingers'. They even have wing claws, and they use these when they clamber into vegetation or onto their nests. They can swim within a day or two after hatching, their parents showing them where and how to find food.  Acrylic painting.