 Early travellers' reports from Mauritius were, in reverse, generally assumed to refer to common moorhens, but it seems that this species only colonized the island after the extinction of the endemic coot.The Mascarene coot was a large bird and while not flightless, it had reduced flying ability, so that if pursued, it would have even more preferred to escape by diving than it is already a general habit of the coots.As the bird had considerable stamina, it could have easily crossed the ocean between the islands, explaining why a single species occurred on both islands.