Rallus
Encyclopedia
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
of wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
s of the rail family
Rallidae
The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small to medium-sized birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and the family also includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules...
. Sometimes, the genera Lewinia
Lewinia
Lewinia is a genus of bird in the Rallidae family. It contains the following species:* Lewin's Rail, Lewinia pectoralis* Brown-banded Rail, Lewinia mirifica* Auckland Rail, Lewinia muelleri...
and Gallirallus
Gallirallus
Gallirallus is a genus that contains about a dozen living species of rails that live in the Australasian-Pacific region. Many of these, including the most well-known one - the bold and inquisitive weka of New Zealand - are flightless or nearly so; others, such as the Buff-banded Rail, can go for...
are included in it. Six of the species are found in the Americas
Americas
The Americas, or America , are lands in the Western hemisphere, also known as the New World. In English, the plural form the Americas is often used to refer to the landmasses of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions, while the singular form America is primarily...
, and the three species found in Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
and Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
are very closely related to each other, suggesting they are descended from a single invasion of a New World ancestor.
These are slim, long-billed rails with slender legs. Their laterally flattened bodies are an adaptation to life in wet reedbeds and marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es, enabling them to slip easily through the dense semi-aquatic vegetation. Typically these birds have streaked brown upperparts, blue-grey on the face or breast, and barred flanks. Only the African Rail
African Rail
The African Rail is a small wetland bird of the rail family.Its breeding habitat is marshes and reedbeds across eastern and southern Africa from Ethiopia to South Africa...
has a plain back, and the Plain-flanked Rail
Plain-flanked Rail
The Plain-flanked Rail is a species of bird in the Rallidae family.It is endemic to Venezuela.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mangrove forests and coastal saline lagoons.It is threatened by habitat loss....
lacks any blue-grey in its plumage and has no flank bars.
The three endemic South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n species are endangered by habitat loss, and the Madagascar Rail
Madagascar Rail
The Madagascar Rail is a species of bird in the Rallidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montanes, and freshwater marshes.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International...
is becoming rare.
Species
Living species- Clapper RailClapper RailThe Clapper Rail is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. Some researchers believe that this bird and the similar King Rail are a single species; the two birds are known to interbreed.-Distribution and habitat:...
, Rallus longirostris- California Clapper RailCalifornia Clapper RailThe California Clapper Rail is an endangered subspecies of the Clapper Rail . It is found principally in California's San Francisco Bay, and also in Monterey Bay and Morro Bay...
, Rallus longirostris obsoletus
- California Clapper Rail
- King RailKing RailThe King Rail, Rallus elegans, is a waterbird, the largest North American rail.Distinct features are a long bill with a slight downward curve, with adults being brown on the back and rusty-brown on the face and breast with a dark brown cap. They also have a white throat and a light belly with...
, Rallus elegans - Plain-flanked RailPlain-flanked RailThe Plain-flanked Rail is a species of bird in the Rallidae family.It is endemic to Venezuela.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mangrove forests and coastal saline lagoons.It is threatened by habitat loss....
, Rallus wetmorei - Virginia RailVirginia RailThe Virginia Rail, Rallus limicola, is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae.Adults are mainly brown, darker on the back and crown, with orange-brown legs. They have long toes, a short tail and a long slim reddish bill...
, Rallus limicola - Bogota RailBogotá RailThe Bogotá Rail is a species of bird in the Rallidae family.It is endemic to Colombia.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical high-altitude grassland, freshwater lakes, and freshwater marshes....
, Rallus semiplumbeus - Austral RailAustral RailThe Austral Rail is a species of bird in the Rallidae family.It is found in Argentina and Chile.Its natural habitats are swamps, freshwater lakes, and freshwater marshes.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:...
, Rallus antarcticus - Water RailWater RailThe Water Rail is a bird of the rail family which breeds in well-vegetated wetlands across Europe, Asia and North Africa. Northern and eastern populations are migratory, but this species is a permanent resident in the warmer parts of its breeding range...
, Rallus aquaticus - African RailAfrican RailThe African Rail is a small wetland bird of the rail family.Its breeding habitat is marshes and reedbeds across eastern and southern Africa from Ethiopia to South Africa...
, Rallus caerulescens - Madagascar RailMadagascar RailThe Madagascar Rail is a species of bird in the Rallidae family.It is endemic to Madagascar.Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forests, subtropical or tropical moist montanes, and freshwater marshes.It is threatened by habitat loss.-References:* BirdLife International...
, Rallus madagascariensis
Fossil record
- Ibiza RailIbiza RailThe Ibiza Rail is a new species of rail, described from a late Pleistocene to Holocene cave deposit at Es Pouàs, on the island of Ibiza. Ibiza is in the Pityuses group of the Spanish Balearic Islands in the Mediterranean Sea...
, Rallus eivissensis (prehistoricLate Quaternary prehistoric birdsPrehistoric birds are various taxa of birds that became extinct before recorded history, or more precisely, before they could be studied alive by bird scientists...
) - Rallus sp. (Sajóvölgyi Middle Miocene of Mátraszõlõs, Hungary)
- Rallus lacustris (Late Pliocene of C North America)
- Rallus phillipsi (Late Pliocene of Wickieup, USA)
- Rallus prenticei (Late Pliocene of C North America)
- Rallus sp. (Rexroad Late Pliocene of Saw Rock Canyon, USA)
- Rallus auffenbergi (Middle Pleistocene of SE North America) - formerly Porzana
- Rallus ibycus (Shore Hills Late Pleistocene of Bermuda, W Atlantic)
- Rallus recessus (St Georges Soil Late Pleistocene of Bermuda, W Atlantic)
- Rallus natator (Pleistocene of San Josecito Cavern, Mexico) - formerly Epirallus
- Rallus richmondi - includes R. dubius
Formerly in Rallus
- "R." arenarius – now Quercyrallus
- "R." beaumontii, "R." dispar – now – now Pararallus or Palaeoaramides
- "R." christyi, "R." eximius, "R." major – now Palaeoaramides
- "R." major – now Miorallus
- "R." porzanoides – now Paraortygometra
"R" sumiderensis apparently refers to prehistoric remains of the Zapata Rail
Zapata Rail
The Zapata Rail is a 29 cm long, dark-coloured rail, the only member of the monotypic genus Cyanolimnas. It has brown upperparts, greyish-blue underparts, a red-based yellow bill, white undertail coverts, and red eyes and legs. Its short wings render it almost flightless...
(Cyanolimnas cerverai).