Bird Families Accounts 028 – 033 | Previous Accounts Page | Next Accounts Page | Search Bird Family | Search Bird Species
Order: Gruiformes
6 families, 193 species (25 extinct)
Family #028
Flufftails (Sarothruridae)
- Species: 15
- Distribution: Afrotropical endemic
- IOC family #029, HBW family #033, H&M family #032
- wf253 status: 55% members ticked
- OH: 5 seen, 4 photographed, first seen in South Africa, 2014
Madagascar Forest Rail | Mentocrex kioloides | . |
Tsingy Forest Rail | Mentocrex beankaensis | |
White-spotted Flufftail | Sarothrura pulchra | .. |
Buff-spotted Flufftail | Sarothrura elegans | .. |
Red-chested Flufftail | Sarothrura rufa | |
Chestnut-headed Flufftail | Sarothrura lugens | |
Streaky-breasted Flufftail | Sarothrura boehmi | |
Striped Flufftail | Sarothrura affinis | |
Madagascar Flufftail | Sarothrura insularis | .. |
White-winged Flufftail | Sarothrura ayresi | |
Slender-billed Flufftail | Sarothrura watersi | .. |
Chestnut Forest Rail | Rallicula rubra | |
White-striped Forest Rail | Rallicula leucospila | |
Forbes’s Forest Rail | Rallicula forbesi | |
Mayr’s Forest Rail | Rallicula mayri |

1 Buff-spotted Flufftail, South Africa; 2 Slender-billed Flufftail, Madagascar; 3 White-spotted Flufftail, Ghana; 4 Madagascan Flufftail, Madagascar
Family #029
Rails, Gallinules, and Coots (Rallidae)
- Species: 156 (25 extinct)
- Distribution: Global
- IOC family #030 (Rails, Crakes & Coots), HBW family #034, H&M family #031 (Rails and Coots)
- wf253 status: 100% members ticked
- OH: 49 seen, 42 photographed, first seen in Israel, 1977
Ridgway’s Rail | Rallus obsoletus | |
Aztec Rail | Rallus tenuirostris | |
Mangrove Rail | Rallus longirostris | |
King Rail | Rallus elegans | |
Clapper Rail | Rallus crepitans | .. |
Plain-flanked Rail | Rallus wetmorei | |
Virginia Rail | Rallus limicola | .. |
Ecuadorian Rail | Rallus aequatorialis | |
Bogota Rail | Rallus semiplumbeus | |
Austral Rail | Rallus antarcticus | |
Water Rail | Rallus aquaticus | .. |
Brown-cheeked Rail | Rallus indicus | |
African Rail | Rallus caerulescens | |
Madagascar Rail | Rallus madagascariensis | |
White-throated Rail | Dryolimnas cuvieri | .. |
Reunion Rail | Dryolimnas augusti | exinct |
Red Rail | Aphanapteryx bonasia | exinct |
Rodrigues Rail | Erythromachus leguati | exinct |
Corn Crake | Crex crex | .. |
African Crake | Crecopsis egregia | .. |
Rouget’s Rail | Rougetius rougetii | |
St. Helena Rail | Aphanocrex podarces | exinct |
Ascension Crake | Mundia elpenor | exinct |
Snoring Rail | Aramidopsis plateni | |
Slaty-breasted Rail | Lewinia striata | . |
Luzon Rail | Lewinia mirifica | |
Lewin’s Rail | Lewinia pectoralis | |
Auckland Islands Rail | Lewinia muelleri | |
Blue-faced Rail | Gymnocrex rosenbergii | |
Bare-eyed Rail | Gymnocrex plumbeiventris | |
Talaud Rail | Gymnocrex talaudensis | |
Hawkins’s Rail | Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi | exinct |
Calayan Rail | Gallirallus calayanensis | |
Invisible Rail | Gallirallus wallacii | |
Chestnut Rail | Gallirallus castaneoventris | |
Weka | Gallirallus australis | .. |
New Caledonian Rail | Gallirallus lafresnayanus | |
Lord Howe Rail | Gallirallus sylvestris | |
Okinawa Rail | Gallirallus okinawae | |
Tahiti Rail | Gallirallus pacificus | exinct |
Buff-banded Rail | Gallirallus philippensis | .. |
Chatham Islands Rail | Gallirallus modestus | exinct |
Dieffenbach’s Rail | Gallirallus dieffenbachii | exinct |
New Britain Rail | Gallirallus insignis | |
Woodford’s Rail | Gallirallus woodfordi | |
Bar-winged Rail | Gallirallus poecilopterus | exinct |
Guam Rail | Gallirallus owstoni | |
Wake Island Rail | Gallirallus wakensis | exinct |
Barred Rail | Gallirallus torquatus | . |
Roviana Rail | Gallirallus rovianae | |
Gray-throated Rail | Canirallus oculeus | |
Spotted Rail | Pardirallus maculatus | |
Blackish Rail | Pardirallus nigricans | .. |
Plumbeous Rail | Pardirallus sanguinolentus | .. |
Ash-throated Crake | Mustelirallus albicollis | . |
Zapata Rail | Mustelirallus cerverai | |
Colombian Crake | Mustelirallus colombianus | |
Paint-billed Crake | Mustelirallus erythrops | |
Uniform Crake | Amaurolimnas concolor | |
Giant Wood-Rail | Aramides ypecaha | .. |
Brown Wood-Rail | Aramides wolfi | |
Little Wood-Rail | Aramides mangle | |
Rufous-necked Wood-Rail | Aramides axillaris | |
Russet-naped Wood-Rail | Aramides albiventris | |
Gray-cowled Wood-Rail | Aramides cajaneus | .. |
Red-winged Wood-Rail | Aramides calopterus | |
Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail | Aramides saracura | .. |
Black-tailed Nativehen | Tribonyx ventralis | .. |
Hodgen’s Waterhen | Tribonyx hodgenorum | exinct |
Tasmanian Nativehen | Tribonyx mortierii | |
Spot-flanked Gallinule | Porphyriops melanops | .. |
Sora | Porzana carolina | .. |
Spotted Crake | Porzana porzana | .. |
Australian Crake | Porzana fluminea | . |
Lesser Moorhen | Paragallinula angulata | |
Makira Moorhen | Gallinula silvestris | |
Tristan Moorhen | Gallinula nesiotis | exinct |
Gough Moorhen | Gallinula comeri | |
Eurasian Moorhen | Gallinula chloropus | .. |
Common Gallinule | Gallinula galeata | .. |
Dusky Moorhen | Gallinula tenebrosa | .. |
Samoan Moorhen | Gallinula pacifica | exinct |
Red-fronted Coot | Fulica rufifrons | .. |
Horned Coot | Fulica cornuta | |
Giant Coot | Fulica gigantea | |
Red-gartered Coot | Fulica armillata | .. |
Eurasian Coot | Fulica atra | .. |
Mascarene Coot | Fulica newtonii | exinct |
Red-knobbed Coot | Fulica cristata | .. |
Hawaiian Coot | Fulica alai | |
American Coot | Fulica americana | .. |
Slate-colored Coot | Fulica ardesiaca | .. |
White-winged Coot | Fulica leucoptera | .. |
Allen’s Gallinule | Porphyrio alleni | |
Purple Gallinule | Porphyrio martinica | .. |
Azure Gallinule | Porphyrio flavirostris | |
Marquesan Swamphen | Porphyrio paepae | exinct |
New Caledonian Gallinule | Porphyrio kukwiedei | exinct |
Reunion Gallinule | Porphyrio caerulescens | exinct |
Western Swamphen | Porphyrio porphyrio | .. |
Black-backed Swamphen | Porphyrio indicus | . |
African Swamphen | Porphyrio madagascariensis | .. |
South Island Takahe | Porphyrio hochstetteri | .. |
North Island Takahe | Porphyrio mantelli | exinct |
Australasian Swamphen | Porphyrio melanotus | .. |
Philippine Swamphen | Porphyrio pulverulentus | |
Lord Howe Swamphen | Porphyrio albus | exinct |
Gray-headed Swamphen | Porphyrio poliocephalus | .. |
Nkulengu Rail | Himantornis haematopus | |
White-browed Crake | Poliolimnas cinereus | .. |
New Guinea Flightless Rail | Megacrex inepta | .. |
Watercock | Gallicrex cinerea | |
Isabelline Bush-hen | Amaurornis isabellina | |
Plain Bush-hen | Amaurornis olivacea | |
White-breasted Waterhen | Amaurornis phoenicurus | .. |
Talaud Bush-hen | Amaurornis magnirostris | |
Pale-vented Bush-hen | Amaurornis moluccana | . |
Striped Crake | Aenigmatolimnas marginalis | |
Red-necked Crake | Rallina tricolor | .. |
Andaman Crake | Rallina canningi | |
Red-legged Crake | Rallina fasciata | |
Slaty-legged Crake | Rallina eurizonoides | |
Ruddy-breasted Crake | Zapornia fusca | |
Band-bellied Crake | Zapornia paykullii | |
Brown Crake | Zapornia akool | |
Black Crake | Zapornia flavirostra | .. |
Little Crake | Zapornia parva | .. |
Baillon’s Crake | Zapornia pusilla | . |
St. Helena Crake | Zapornia astrictocarpus | exinct |
Laysan Rail | Zapornia palmeri | exinct |
Sakalava Rail | Zapornia olivieri | |
Black-tailed Crake | Zapornia bicolor | .. |
Hawaiian Rail | Zapornia sandwichensis | exinct |
Miller’s Rail | Zapornia nigra | exinct |
Henderson Island Crake | Zapornia atra | |
Spotless Crake | Zapornia tabuensis | .. |
Kosrae Crake | Zapornia monasa | exinct |
Ocellated Crake | Rufirallus schomburgkii | |
Russet-crowned Crake | Rufirallus viridis | |
Black-banded Crake | Rufirallus fasciatus | |
Red-and-white Crake | Rufirallus leucopyrrhus | .. |
Rufous-faced Crake | Rufirallus xenopterus | |
Chestnut-headed Crake | Anurolimnas castaneiceps | |
Swinhoe’s Rail | Coturnicops exquisitus | |
Yellow Rail | Coturnicops noveboracensis | |
Inaccessible Island Rail | Laterallus rogersi | |
Speckled Rail | Laterallus notatus | |
Yellow-breasted Crake | Laterallus flaviventer | |
Rusty-flanked Crake | Laterallus levraudi | |
Rufous-sided Crake | Laterallus melanophaius | .. |
Ruddy Crake | Laterallus ruber | |
White-throated Crake | Laterallus albigularis | . |
Gray-breasted Crake | Laterallus exilis | |
Galapagos Rail | Laterallus spilonota | |
Black Rail | Laterallus jamaicensis | |
Dot-winged Crake | Laterallus spilopterus |

Corn Crake, Israel 2017

Weka, New Zealand 2014

Clapper Rail, Puerto Rico, 2022

1 Weka, New Zealand; 2 Buff-banded Rail, Australia; 3 Virginia Rail, USA; 4 Water Rail, Israel; 5 Rufous-sided Crake, Brazil; 6 African Crake, Uganda; 7 Black-tailed Crake, Thailand; 8 Takahe, New Zealand; 9 African Swamphen, Israel; 10 Gray-headed Swamphen, India; 11 Australasian Swamphen, Australia; 12 Western Swamphen, Spain; 13 Spotted Crake, Israel; 14 Red-necked Crake, Australia; 15 Corn Crake, Israel; 16 Little Crake, Israel; 17 White-breasted Waterhen, Thailand; 18 Common Gallinule, Brazil; 19 Eurasian Moorhen, Israel; 20 Dusky Moorhen, Australia; 21 Red-gartered Coot, Argentina; 22 Eurasian Coot, Israel; 23 Slate-colored Coot, Peru; 24 Red-knobbed Coot, Spain; 25 American Coot, USA; 26 Red-fronted Coot, Argentina; 27 White-winged Coot, Argentina; 28 Plumbeous Rail, Argentina; 29 Giant Wood-Rail, Argentina; 30 Spot-flanked Gallinule, Argentina; 31 White-throated Rail, Madagascar; 32 Slaty-breasted Wood-Rail, Brazil; 33 Red-and-white Crake, Brazil; 34 Gray-necked Wood-Rail, Argentina; 35 Black Crake, South Africa; 36 Black-tailed Native-hen, Australia; 37 Blackish Rail, Brazil; 38 Purple Gallinule, Dominican Republic; 39 Spotless Crake, Australia
Family #030
Finfoots (Heliornithidae)
- Species: 3
- Distribution: Afrotropic, Indomalaya, Neotropic
- IOC family #028, HBW family #032, H&M family #033
- wf253 status: 67% members ticked
- OH: 1 seen and photographed, first seen in South Africa, 2014
African Finfoot | Podica senegalensis | .. |
Masked Finfoot | Heliopais personatus | |
Sungrebe | Heliornis fulica |

African Finfoot, South Africa
Family #031
Limpkin (Aramidae)
- Species: 1
- Distribution: Neotropic, Nearctic
- IOC family #033, HBW family #036, H&M family #035
- wf253 status: 83% members ticked
- OH: 1 seen and photographed, first seen in Brazil, 2009
Limpkin | Aramus guarauna | .. |

Limpkin, Brazil 2015
Family #032
Trumpeters (Psophiidae)
- Species: 3
- Distribution: Neotropical endemic
- IOC family #031, HBW family #035, H&M family #034
- wf253 status: 45% members ticked
- OH: 1 seen and photographed, first seen in Ecuador, 2019
- Finding Hints
Gray-winged Trumpeter | Psophia crepitans | .. |
Pale-winged Trumpeter | Psophia leucoptera | |
Dark-winged Trumpeter | Psophia viridis |

Gray-winged Trumpeter, Ecuador 2019
Family #033
Cranes (Gruidae)
- Species: 15
- Distribution: Afrotropic, Australasia, Indomalaya, Nearctic , Palearctic
- IOC family #032, HBW family #037, H&M family #036
- wf253 status: 98% members ticked
- OH: 8 seen and photographed, first seen in Israel, 1977
Gray Crowned-Crane | Balearica regulorum | .. |
Black Crowned-Crane | Balearica pavonina | |
Demoiselle Crane | Anthropoides virgo | .. |
Blue Crane | Anthropoides paradiseus | .. |
Wattled Crane | Bugeranus carunculatus | |
Siberian Crane | Leucogeranus leucogeranus | |
Sandhill Crane | Antigone canadensis | .. |
Sarus Crane | Antigone antigone | .. |
Brolga | Antigone rubicunda | .. |
White-naped Crane | Antigone vipio | |
Common Crane | Grus grus | .. |
Hooded Crane | Grus monacha | |
Whooping Crane | Grus americana | .. |
Black-necked Crane | Grus nigricollis | |
Red-crowned Crane | Grus japonensis |

1 Demoiselle Crane, Israel; 2 Gray Crowned-Crane, Tanzania; 3 Sarus Crane, India; 4 Common Crane, Israel; 5 Blue Crane, South Africa; 6 Brolga, Australia; 7 Sandhill Crane, USA; 8 Whooping Crane, USA