List of rail species
The avian family Rallidae comprise the rails, crakes, and coots. The International Ornithological Committee (IOC) recognizes these 153 species distributed among 43 genera, 24 of which have only one species. Twenty-one of the species in the list have gone extinct since A.D. 1500; they are marked (E).[1]
This list is presented according to the IOC taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.
List
[edit]| Common name | Binomial name | IOC sequence |
|---|---|---|
| Grey-throated rail | Canirallus oculeus (Hartlaub, 1855) | 1 |
| Chestnut-headed crake | Anurolimnas castaneiceps (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1869) | 2 |
| Spotted rail | Pardirallus maculatus (Boddaert, 1783) | 3 |
| Blackish rail | Pardirallus nigricans (Vieillot, 1819) | 4 |
| Plumbeous rail | Pardirallus sanguinolentus (Swainson, 1838) | 5 |
| Ash-throated crake | Mustelirallus albicollis (Vieillot, 1819) | 6 |
| Zapata rail | Mustelirallus cerverai (Barbour & Peters, JL, 1927) | 7 |
| Colombian crake | Mustelirallus colombianus (Bangs, 1898) | 8 |
| Paint-billed crake | Mustelirallus erythrops (Sclater, PL, 1867) | 9 |
| Uniform crake | Amaurolimnas concolor (Gosse, 1847) | 10 |
| Rufous-necked wood rail | Aramides axillaris Lawrence, 1863 | 11 |
| Little wood rail | Aramides mangle (Spix, 1825) | 12 |
| Russet-naped wood rail | Aramides albiventris Lawrence, 1868 | 13 |
| Grey-cowled wood rail | Aramides cajaneus (Müller, PLS, 1776) | 14 |
| Brown wood rail | Aramides wolfi Berlepsch & Taczanowski, 1884 | 15 |
| Giant wood rail | Aramides ypecaha (Vieillot, 1819) | 16 |
| Red-winged wood rail | Aramides calopterus Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1878 | 17 |
| Slaty-breasted wood rail | Aramides saracura (Spix, 1825) | 18 |
| Ridgway's rail | Rallus obsoletus Ridgway, 1874 | 19 |
| Clapper rail | Rallus crepitans Gmelin, JF, 1789 | 20 |
| Aztec rail | Rallus tenuirostris Ridgway, 1874 | 21 |
| Mangrove rail | Rallus longirostris Boddaert, 1783 | 22 |
| King rail | Rallus elegans Audubon, 1834 | 23 |
| Plain-flanked rail | Rallus wetmorei Zimmer, JT & Phelps, WH, 1944 | 24 |
| Virginia rail | Rallus limicola Vieillot, 1819 | 25 |
| Bogota rail | Rallus semiplumbeus Sclater, PL, 1856 | 26 |
| Ecuadorian rail | Rallus aequatorialis Sharpe, 1894 | 27 |
| Austral rail | Rallus antarcticus King, PP, 1828 | 28 |
| Water rail | Rallus aquaticus Linnaeus, 1758 | 29 |
| Brown-cheeked rail | Rallus indicus Blyth, 1849 | 30 |
| African rail | Rallus caerulescens Gmelin, JF, 1789 | 31 |
| Madagascar rail | Rallus madagascariensis Verreaux, J, 1833 | 32 |
| African crake | Crecopsis egregia (Peters, W, 1854) | 33 |
| Rouget's rail | Rougetius rougetii (Guérin-Méneville, 1843) | 34 |
| White-throated rail | Dryolimnas cuvieri (Pucheran, 1845) | 35 |
| Reunion rail | Dryolimnas augusti Mourer-Chauviré, Bour, Ribes & Moutou, 1999 (E) | 36 |
| Corn crake | Crex crex (Linnaeus, 1758) | 37 |
| Snoring rail | Aramidopsis plateni (Blasius, W, 1886) | 38 |
| Slaty-breasted rail | Lewinia striata (Linnaeus, 1766) | 39 |
| Brown-banded rail | Lewinia mirifica (Parkes & Amadon, 1959) | 40 |
| Lewin's rail | Lewinia pectoralis (Temminck, 1831) | 41 |
| Auckland rail | Lewinia muelleri (Rothschild, 1893) | 42 |
| Hawkins's rail | Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi (Forbes, HO, 1892) (E) | 43 |
| Calayan rail | Aptenorallus calayanensis (Allen, D, Oliveros, Española, Broad & Gonzalez, 2004) | 44 |
| Invisible rail | Habroptila wallacii Gray, GR, 1861 | 45 |
| Weka | Gallirallus australis (Sparrman, 1786) | 46 |
| Chestnut rail | Eulabeornis castaneoventris Gould, 1844 | 47 |
| New Caledonian rail | Cabalus lafresnayanus (Verreaux, J & des Murs, 1860) | 48 |
| Chatham Islands rail | Cabalus modestus (Hutton, FW, 1872) (E) | 49 |
| Okinawa rail | Hypotaenidia okinawae (Yamashina & Mano, 1981) | 50 |
| Barred rail | Hypotaenidia torquata (Linnaeus, 1766) | 51 |
| Buff-banded rail | Hypotaenidia philippensis (Linnaeus, 1766) | 52 |
| Guam rail | Hypotaenidia owstoni Rothschild, 1895 | 53 |
| Pink-legged rail | Hypotaenidia insignis (Sclater, PL, 1880) | 54 |
| Roviana rail | Hypotaenidia rovianae (Diamond, 1991) | 55 |
| Woodford's rail | Hypotaenidia woodfordi (Ogilvie-Grant, 1889) | 56 |
| Bar-winged rail | Hypotaenidia poeciloptera (Hartlaub, 1866) (E) | 57 |
| Lord Howe woodhen | Hypotaenidia sylvestris (Sclater, PL, 1870) | 58 |
| Dieffenbach's rail | Hypotaenidia dieffenbachii (Gray, GR, 1843) (E) | 59 |
| Tahiti rail | Hypotaenidia pacifica (Gmelin, JF, 1789) (E) | 60 |
| Wake Island rail | Hypotaenidia wakensis Rothschild, 1903 (E) | 61 |
| Spot-flanked gallinule | Porphyriops melanops (Vieillot, 1819) | 62 |
| Sora | Porzana carolina (Linnaeus, 1758) | 63 |
| Spotted crake | Porzana porzana (Linnaeus, 1766) | 64 |
| Australian crake | Porzana fluminea Gould, 1843 | 65 |
| Black-tailed nativehen | Tribonyx ventralis (Gould, 1837) | 66 |
| Tasmanian nativehen | Tribonyx mortierii Du Bus de Gisignies, 1840 | 67 |
| Lesser moorhen | Paragallinula angulata (Sundevall, 1850) | 68 |
| Dusky moorhen | Gallinula tenebrosa Gould, 1846 | 69 |
| Common gallinule | Gallinula galeata (Lichtenstein, MHC, 1818) | 70 |
| Common moorhen | Gallinula chloropus (Linnaeus, 1758) | 71 |
| Tristan moorhen | Gallinula nesiotis Sclater, PL, 1861 (E) | 72 |
| Gough moorhen | Gallinula comeri (Allen, JA, 1892) | 73 |
| Makira woodhen | Gallinula silvestris (Mayr, 1933) | 74 |
| Samoan woodhen | Gallinula pacifica (Hartlaub & Finsch, 1871) (E) | 75 |
| Red-fronted coot | Fulica rufifrons Philippi & Landbeck, 1861 | 76 |
| Horned coot | Fulica cornuta Bonaparte, 1853 | 77 |
| Giant coot | Fulica gigantea Eydoux & Souleyet, 1841 | 78 |
| Red-gartered coot | Fulica armillata Vieillot, 1817 | 79 |
| Eurasian coot | Fulica atra Linnaeus, 1758 | 80 |
| Red-knobbed coot | Fulica cristata Gmelin, JF, 1789 | 81 |
| Mascarene coot | Fulica newtonii Milne-Edwards, 1867 (E) | 82 |
| Hawaiian coot | Fulica alai Peale, 1849 | 83 |
| American coot | Fulica americana Gmelin, JF, 1789 | 84 |
| Andean coot | Fulica ardesiaca Tschudi, 1843 | 85 |
| White-winged coot | Fulica leucoptera Vieillot, 1817 | 86 |
| Allen's gallinule | Porphyrio alleni Thomson, 1842 | 87 |
| Purple gallinule | Porphyrio martinica (Linnaeus, 1766) | 88 |
| Azure gallinule | Porphyrio flavirostris (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 89 |
| Western swamphen | Porphyrio porphyrio (Linnaeus, 1758) | 90 |
| African swamphen | Porphyrio madagascariensis (Latham, 1801) | 91 |
| Grey-headed swamphen | Porphyrio poliocephalus (Latham, 1801) | 92 |
| Black-backed swamphen | Porphyrio indicus Horsfield, 1821 | 93 |
| Philippine swamphen | Porphyrio pulverulentus Temminck, 1826 | 94 |
| Australasian swamphen | Porphyrio melanotus Temminck, 1820 | 95 |
| White swamphen | Porphyrio albus (Shaw, 1790) (E) | 96 |
| Marquesan swamphen | Porphyrio paepae Steadman, 1988 (E) | 97 |
| North Island takahe | Porphyrio mantelli (Owen, 1848) (E) | 98 |
| South Island takahe | Porphyrio hochstetteri (Meyer, AB, 1883) | 99 |
| Rufous-faced crake | Rufirallus xenopterus Conover, 1934 | 100 |
| Red-and-white crake | Rufirallus leucopyrrhus (Vieillot, 1819) | 101 |
| Black-banded crake | Rufirallus fasciatus (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1868) | 102 |
| Ocellated crake | Rufirallus schomburgkii (Schomburgk, 1848) | 103 |
| Russet-crowned crake | Rufirallus viridis (Müller, PLS, 1776) | 104 |
| Swinhoe's rail | Coturnicops exquisitus (Swinhoe, 1873) | 105 |
| Yellow rail | Coturnicops noveboracensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 106 |
| Speckled rail | Laterallus notatus (Gould, 1841) | 107 |
| Dot-winged crake | Laterallus spiloptera (Durnford, 1877) | 108 |
| Inaccessible Island rail | Laterallus rogersi (Lowe, 1923) | 109 |
| Black rail | Laterallus jamaicensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 110 |
| Galapagos crake | Laterallus spilonota (Gould, 1841) | 111 |
| Yellow-breasted crake | Laterallus flaviventer (Boddaert, 1783) | 112 |
| Grey-breasted crake | Laterallus exilis (Temminck, 1831) | 113 |
| White-throated crake | Laterallus albigularis (Lawrence, 1861) | 114 |
| Ruddy crake | Laterallus ruber (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1860) | 115 |
| Rusty-flanked crake | Laterallus levraudi (Sclater, PL & Salvin, 1869) | 116 |
| Rufous-sided crake | Laterallus melanophaius (Vieillot, 1819) | 117 |
| Ascension crake | Mundia elpenor (Olson, 1973) (E) | 118 |
| St. Helena rail | Aphanocrex podarces Wetmore, 1963 (E) | 119 |
| Black crake | Zapornia flavirostra (Swainson, 1837) | 120 |
| Sakalava rail | Zapornia olivieri (Grandidier, G & Berlioz, 1929) | 121 |
| Ruddy-breasted crake | Zapornia fusca (Linnaeus, 1766) | 122 |
| Band-bellied crake | Zapornia paykullii (Ljungh, 1813) | 123 |
| Black-tailed crake | Zapornia bicolor (Walden, 1872) | 124 |
| Brown crake | Zapornia akool (Sykes, 1832) | 125 |
| Baillon's crake | Zapornia pusilla (Pallas, 1776) | 126 |
| St. Helena crake | Zapornia astrictocarpus (Olson, 1973) (E) | 127 |
| Little crake | Zapornia parva (Scopoli, 1769) | 128 |
| Spotless crake | Zapornia tabuensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 129 |
| Kosrae crake | Zapornia monasa (Kittlitz, 1858) (E) | 130 |
| Tahiti crake | Zapornia nigra (Miller, JF, 1784) (E) | 131 |
| Henderson crake | Zapornia atra (North, 1908) | 132 |
| Hawaiian rail | Zapornia sandwichensis (Gmelin, JF, 1789) (E) | 133 |
| Laysan rail | Zapornia palmeri (Frohawk, 1892) (E) | 134 |
| Slaty-legged crake | Rallina eurizonoides (Lafresnaye, 1845) | 135 |
| Andaman crake | Rallina canningi (Blyth, 1863) | 136 |
| Red-legged crake | Rallina fasciata (Raffles, 1822) | 137 |
| Red-necked crake | Rallina tricolor Gray, GR, 1858 | 138 |
| Blue-faced rail | Gymnocrex rosenbergii (Schlegel, 1866) | 139 |
| Talaud rail | Gymnocrex talaudensis Lambert, 1998 | 140 |
| Bare-eyed rail | Gymnocrex plumbeiventris (Gray, GR, 1862) | 141 |
| Nkulengu rail | Himantornis haematopus Hartlaub, 1855 | 142 |
| New Guinea flightless rail | Megacrex inepta D'Albertis & Salvadori, 1879 | 143 |
| White-browed crake | Poliolimnas cinereus (Vieillot, 1819) | 144 |
| Striped crake | Aenigmatolimnas marginalis (Hartlaub, 1857) | 145 |
| Watercock | Gallicrex cinerea (Gmelin, JF, 1789) | 146 |
| White-breasted waterhen | Amaurornis phoenicurus (Pennant, 1769) | 147 |
| Plain bush-hen | Amaurornis olivacea (Meyen, 1834) | 148 |
| Talaud bush-hen | Amaurornis magnirostris Lambert, 1998 | 149 |
| Isabelline bush-hen | Amaurornis isabellina (Schlegel, 1865) | 150 |
| Pale-vented bush-hen | Amaurornis moluccana (Wallace, 1865) | 151 |
| Red rail | Aphanapteryx bonasia (de Sélys-Longchamps, 1848) (E) | 152 |
| Rodrigues rail | Erythromachus leguati Milne-Edwards, 1873 (E) | 153 |
References
[edit]- ^ Gill, F.; Donsker, D.; Rasmussen, P., eds. (March 2025). "Finfoots, flufftails, rails, trumpeters, cranes, Limpkin". IOC World Bird List. v 15.1. Retrieved March 3, 2025.