Life as a moorhen during springtime

Today I saw a range of ducks, coots, swans, black headed gulls and these moorhens all showing signs of springtime activity. There seemed to be a lot of aggression in their interactions, with wariness between the species. Within seconds of this chase, I took the photo in the 'Extras', which ended up with the loser being submerged for several seconds, but seemingly was unhurt. I wasn't sure whether it was a mating scene or not. What a life.


Some background, edited from a Wiki:

Moorhens — sometimes called marsh hens — are medium sized water birds that are members of the rail family (Rallidae). Most species are placed in the genus Gallinula, Latin for "little hen", and are close relatives of coots. They have short rounded wings and are weak fliers, although usually capable of covering long distances. The common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) in particular migrates up to 2,000 km (1,200 mi) from some of its breeding areas in the colder parts of Siberia. Those that migrate do so at night.

These birds are omnivorous, consuming plant material, small rodents, amphibians and eggs. They are aggressively territorial during the breeding season, but are otherwise often found in sizeable flocks on the shallow vegetated lakes they prefer.

Older fossils document the genus since the Late Oligocene onwards, from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present. The genus seems to have originated in the Southern Hemisphere, in the general region of Australia. By the Pliocene, it was probably distributed worldwide.