Difference between Coot, Moorhen wings?

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Bazzer69
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Difference between Coot, Moorhen wings?

Post by Bazzer69 » Thu Jan 26, 2017 4:38 pm

I have a couple of pairs of wings both of which are nearly black, one has a slight reddish tinge to it, the main difference is the size, one is nearly twice the size of the other. Can anyone help me ID the wings?
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zen leecher
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Re: Difference between Coot, Moorhen wings?

Post by zen leecher » Thu Jan 26, 2017 11:33 pm

Coot, as I'm familiar with, is a slate gray.
Bazzer69
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Re: Difference between Coot, Moorhen wings?

Post by Bazzer69 » Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:03 am

Wings
Wings
IMG_3357.JPG (103.71 KiB) Viewed 6973 times
zen leecher wrote:Coot, as I'm familiar with, is a slate gray.
Love both fly fishing and fly tying, been doing it for a while
But not much good at either
Bazzer69
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Re: Difference between Coot, Moorhen wings?

Post by Bazzer69 » Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:05 am

Bazzer69 wrote:
The attachment IMG_3357.JPG is no longer available
zen leecher wrote:Coot, as I'm familiar with, is a slate gray.
The smaller one has a little white on the leading edge
Attachments
Underwing
Underwing
IMG_3356.JPG (108.13 KiB) Viewed 6966 times
Love both fly fishing and fly tying, been doing it for a while
But not much good at either
Bazzer69
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Re: Difference between Coot, Moorhen wings?

Post by Bazzer69 » Fri Jan 27, 2017 2:01 am

Ok, my internet searching has shown me the smaller one is in fact waterhen/moorhen and I reckon the larger to be coot.
Love both fly fishing and fly tying, been doing it for a while
But not much good at either
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tie2fish
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Re: Difference between Coot, Moorhen wings?

Post by tie2fish » Fri Jan 27, 2017 7:06 am

Judging from the color, I would agree that the one on the left is waterhen. Can't vouch for the other one though.
Some of the same morons who throw their trash around in National parks also vote. That alone would explain the state of American politics. ~ John Gierach, "Still Life with Brook Trout"
joaniebo
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Re: Difference between Coot, Moorhen wings?

Post by joaniebo » Fri Jan 27, 2017 8:22 am

Barry

Take a look at Veniards web site for pics of Moorhen / Waterhen, Coot, Jackdaw & Crow wings:

http://www.veniard.com/section1/feathers

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Re: Difference between Coot, Moorhen wings?

Post by William Anderson » Fri Jan 27, 2017 8:25 am

Barry, I would agree with your identification. So to go a step further, you'll want to find comparable feathers from the same location on each wing and tie up a spider pattern, put a toothpick through the eye of the hook and dunk them in a cup of water. In my experience, the waterhen has a softer, whisper barb and the hackle has a livelier action to it. The coot has a more firm barb movement, more springy and very lively, but with a more structural action. Both of these feathers are very useful, although I bought a coot skin about a decade ago, and you can't tell by looking at it that i've used it. The call for a hackle that size might come up for steel headers or streamers, but I never tie spiders that big.

Here's my favorite more hen pattern. It's a killer in a #16 or #14.

Image

happy tying.

w
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zen leecher
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Re: Difference between Coot, Moorhen wings?

Post by zen leecher » Fri Jan 27, 2017 12:45 pm

Bazzer69 wrote:
Bazzer69 wrote:
IMG_3357.JPG
zen leecher wrote:Coot, as I'm familiar with, is a slate gray.
The smaller one has a little white on the leading edge
If you are correct in the wing on the left being moorhen then the difference between moorhen and coot is moorhen has a hint of brown mixed in the wing. Educational photos and thanks for posting.
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