List of rail species

Last updated

The avian family Rallidae comprise the rails, crakes, and coots. The AviList team recognizes these 148 species distributed among 38 genera, 19 of which have only one species. Nineteen of the species in the list have gone extinct since A.D. 1500; they are marked (Extinct). [1]

This list is presented according to the Avilist taxonomic sequence and can also be sorted alphabetically by common name and binomial.

List

Common nameBinomial nameAviList sequence
Chestnut-headed crake Anurolimnas castaneiceps(Sclater, PL & Salvin, O, 1869)1
Spotted rail Pardirallus maculatus(Boddaert, P, 1783)2
Blackish rail Pardirallus nigricans(Vieillot, LJP, 1819)3
Plumbeous rail Pardirallus sanguinolentus(Swainson, WJ, 1838)4
Ash-throated crake Mustelirallus albicollis(Vieillot, LJP, 1819)5
Zapata rail Mustelirallus cerverai(Barbour, T & Peters, JL, 1927)6
Colombian crake Mustelirallus colombianus(Bangs, O, 1898)7
Paint-billed crake Mustelirallus erythrops(Sclater, PL, 1867)8
Uniform crake Amaurolimnas concolor(Gosse, PH, 1847)9
Giant wood rail Aramides ypecaha(Vieillot, LJP, 1819)10
Brown wood rail Aramides wolfi Berlepsch, HHCL & Taczanowski, W, 188411
Little wood rail Aramides mangle(Spix, JB, 1825)12
Rufous-necked wood rail Aramides axillaris Lawrence, GN, 186313
Russet-naped wood rail Aramides albiventris Lawrence, GN, 186814
Grey-cowled wood rail Aramides cajaneus(Müller, PLS, 1776)15
Red-winged wood rail Aramides calopterus Sclater, PL & Salvin, O, 187816
Slaty-breasted wood rail Aramides saracura(Spix, JB, 1825)17
Grey-throated rail Canirallus oculeus(Hartlaub, KJG, 1855)18
Ridgway's rail Rallus obsoletus Ridgway, R, 187419
Aztec rail Rallus tenuirostris Ridgway, R, 187420
Mangrove rail Rallus longirostris Boddaert, P, 178321
King rail Rallus elegans Audubon, JJ, 183422
Clapper rail Rallus crepitans Gmelin, JF, 178923
Plain-flanked rail Rallus wetmorei Zimmer, JT & Phelps, WH Sr, 194424
Virginia rail Rallus limicola Vieillot, LJP, 181925
Ecuadorian rail Rallus aequatorialis Sharpe, RB, 189426
Bogota rail Rallus semiplumbeus Sclater, PL, 185627
Austral rail Rallus antarcticus King, PP, 182828
Water rail Rallus aquaticus Linnaeus, C, 175829
Brown-cheeked rail Rallus indicus Blyth, E, 184930
African rail Rallus caerulescens Gmelin, JF, 178931
Madagascar rail Rallus madagascariensis Verreaux, JP, 183332
Rouget's rail Rougetius rougetii(Guérin-Méneville, FÉ, 1843)33
African crake Crecopsis egregia(Peters, WKH, 1854)34
Reunion rail Dryolimnas augustiMourer-Chauviré, C, Bour, R, Ribes, S & Moutou, F, 1999 (Extinct)35
White-throated rail Dryolimnas cuvieri(Pucheran, J, 1845)36
Red rail Aphanapteryx bonasia(de Sélys Longchamps, ME, 1848) (Extinct)37
Rodrigues rail Erythromachus leguati Milne-Edwards, A, 1873 (Extinct)38
Hawkins's rail Diaphorapteryx hawkinsi(Forbes, HO, 1892) (Extinct)39
St. Helena rail Aphanocrex podarces Wetmore, A, 1963 (Extinct)40
Ascension crake Mundia elpenor(Olson, SL, 1973) (Extinct)41
Corn crake Crex crex(Linnaeus, C, 1758)42
Snoring rail Aramidopsis plateni(Blasius, W, 1886)43
Slaty-breasted rail Lewinia striata(Linnaeus, C, 1766)44
Brown-banded rail Lewinia mirifica(Parkes, KC & Amadon, DA, 1959)45
Lewin's rail Lewinia pectoralis(Temminck, CJ, 1831)46
Auckland rail Lewinia muelleri(Rothschild, LW, 1893)47
Calayan rail Gallirallus calayanensisAllen, DNS, Oliveros, CH, Española, C, Broad, G & Gonzalez, JCT, 200448
Invisible rail Gallirallus wallacii(Gray, GR, 1861)49
Chestnut rail Gallirallus castaneoventris(Gould, J, 1844)50
Weka Gallirallus australis(Sparrman, A, 1786)51
New Caledonian rail Gallirallus lafresnayanus Verreaux, JP & des Murs, MAPO, 186052
Lord Howe woodhen Gallirallus sylvestris(Sclater, PL, 1870)53
Okinawa rail Gallirallus okinawae(Yamashina, Y & Mano, T, 1981)54
Tahiti rail Gallirallus pacificus(Gmelin, JF, 1789) (Extinct)55
Buff-banded rail Gallirallus philippensis(Linnaeus, C, 1766)56
Chatham rail Gallirallus modestus(Hutton, FW, 1872) (Extinct)57
Dieffenbach's rail Gallirallus dieffenbachii(Gray, GR, 1843) (Extinct)58
Pink-legged rail Gallirallus insignis(Sclater, PL, 1880)59
Woodford's rail Gallirallus woodfordi(Ogilvie-Grant, WR, 1889)60
Bar-winged rail Gallirallus poecilopterus(Hartlaub, KJG, 1866) (Extinct)61
Guam rail Gallirallus owstoni(Rothschild, LW, 1895)62
Wake Island rail Gallirallus wakensis(Rothschild, LW, 1903) (Extinct)63
Barred rail Gallirallus torquatus(Linnaeus, C, 1766)64
Roviana rail Gallirallus rovianae Diamond, JM, 199165
Nkulengu rail Himantornis haematopus Hartlaub, KJG, 185566
Blue-faced rail Gymnocrex rosenbergii(Schlegel, H, 1866)67
Bare-eyed rail Gymnocrex plumbeiventris(Gray, GR, 1862)68
Talaud rail Gymnocrex talaudensisLambert, FR, 199869
Spot-flanked gallinule Porphyriops melanops(Vieillot, LJP, 1819)70
Black-tailed nativehen Tribonyx ventralis(Gould, J, 1837)71
Tasmanian nativehen Tribonyx mortierii Du Bus de Gisignies, B-AL, 184072
Sora Porzana carolina(Linnaeus, C, 1758)73
Spotted crake Porzana porzana(Linnaeus, C, 1766)74
Australian crake Porzana fluminea Gould, J, 184375
Lesser moorhen Paragallinula angulata(Sundevall, CJ, 1850)76
Makira woodhen Gallinula silvestris(Mayr, E, 1933)77
Tristan moorhen Gallinula nesiotis Sclater, PL, 1861 (Extinct)78
Gough moorhen Gallinula comeri(Allen, JA, 1892)79
Common moorhen Gallinula chloropus(Linnaeus, C, 1758)80
Common gallinule Gallinula galeata(Lichtenstein, MHC, 1818)81
Dusky moorhen Gallinula tenebrosa Gould, J, 184682
Samoan woodhen Gallinula pacifica(Hartlaub, KJG & Finsch, FHO, 1871)83
Red-fronted coot Fulica rufifrons Philippi, RA & Landbeck, CL, 186184
Horned coot Fulica cornuta Bonaparte, CLJL, 185385
Red-gartered coot Fulica armillata Vieillot, LJP, 181786
Giant coot Fulica gigantea Eydoux, JFT & Souleyet, LFA, 184187
Eurasian coot Fulica atra Linnaeus, C, 175888
Red-knobbed coot Fulica cristata Gmelin, JF, 178989
Mascarene coot Fulica newtonii Milne-Edwards, A, 1867 (Extinct)90
Hawaiian coot Fulica alai Peale, TR, 184991
American coot Fulica americana Gmelin, JF, 178992
White-winged coot Fulica leucoptera Vieillot, LJP, 181793
Andean coot Fulica ardesiaca Tschudi, JJ, 184394
Allen's gallinule Porphyrio alleni Thomson, TRH, 184295
Purple gallinule Porphyrio martinica(Linnaeus, C, 1766)96
Azure gallinule Porphyrio flavirostris(Gmelin, JF, 1789)97
Marquesan swamphen Porphyrio paepae Steadman, DW, 1988 (Extinct)98
Purple swamphen Porphyrio porphyrio(Linnaeus, C, 1758)99
South Island takahe Porphyrio hochstetteri(Meyer, AB, 1883)100
White swamphen Porphyrio albus(Shaw, G, 1790) (Extinct)101
North Island takahe Porphyrio mantelli(Owen, R, 1848) (Extinct)102
Ocellated crake Rufirallus schomburgkii(Schomburgk, MR, 1848)103
Russet-crowned crake Rufirallus viridis(Müller, PLS, 1776)104
Black-banded crake Rufirallus fasciatus(Sclater, PL & Salvin, O, 1868)105
Red-and-white crake Rufirallus leucopyrrhus(Vieillot, LJP, 1819)106
Rufous-faced crake Rufirallus xenopterus(Conover, HB, 1934)107
Swinhoe's rail Coturnicops exquisitus(Swinhoe, R, 1873)108
Yellow rail Coturnicops noveboracensis(Gmelin, JF, 1789)109
Inaccessible Island rail Laterallus rogersi(Lowe, PR, 1923)110
Speckled rail Laterallus notatus(Gould, J, 1841)111
Yellow-breasted crake Laterallus flaviventer(Boddaert, P, 1783)112
Rusty-flanked crake Laterallus levraudi(Sclater, PL & Salvin, O, 1869)113
Rufous-sided crake Laterallus melanophaius(Vieillot, LJP, 1819)114
Ruddy crake Laterallus ruber(Sclater, PL & Salvin, O, 1860)115
White-throated crake Laterallus albigularis(Lawrence, GN, 1861)116
Grey-breasted crake Laterallus exilis(Temminck, CJ, 1831)117
Galapagos crake Laterallus spilonota(Gould, J, 1841)118
Black rail Laterallus jamaicensis(Gmelin, JF, 1789)119
Dot-winged crake Laterallus spiloptera(Durnford, H, 1877)120
White-browed crake Poliolimnas cinereus(Vieillot, LJP, 1819)121
New Guinea flightless rail Megacrex inepta d'Albertis, LM & Salvadori, AT, 1879122
Striped crake Aenigmatolimnas marginalis(Hartlaub, KJG, 1857)123
Watercock Gallicrex cinerea(Gmelin, JF, 1789)124
Isabelline bush-hen Amaurornis isabellina(Schlegel, H, 1865)125
Plain bush-hen Amaurornis olivacea(Meyen, FJF, 1834)126
White-breasted waterhen Amaurornis phoenicurus(Pennant, T, 1769)127
Talaud bush-hen Amaurornis magnirostrisLambert, FR, 1998128
Pale-vented bush-hen Amaurornis moluccana(Wallace, AR, 1865)129
Red-necked crake Rallina tricolor Gray, GR, 1858130
Andaman crake Rallina canningi(Blyth, E, 1863)131
Red-legged crake Rallina fasciata(Raffles, TS, 1822)132
Slaty-legged crake Rallina eurizonoides(de Lafresnaye, NFAA, 1845)133
Ruddy-breasted crake Zapornia fusca(Linnaeus, C, 1766)134
Band-bellied crake Zapornia paykullii(Ljungh, SI, 1813)135
Brown crake Zapornia akool(Sykes, WH, 1832)136
Black crake Zapornia flavirostra(Swainson, WJ, 1837)137
Little crake Zapornia parva(Scopoli, GA, 1769)138
Baillon's crake Zapornia pusilla(Pallas, PS, 1776)139
St. Helena crake Zapornia astrictocarpus(Olson, SL, 1975) (Extinct)140
Laysan rail Zapornia palmeri(Frohawk, FW, 1892) (Extinct)141
Sakalava rail Zapornia olivieri(Grandidier, G & Berlioz, J, 1929)142
Black-tailed crake Zapornia bicolor(Walden, A, 1872)143
Hawaiian rail Zapornia sandwichensis(Gmelin, JF, 1789) (Extinct)144
Tahiti crake Zapornia nigra(Miller, JF, 1784) (Extinct)145
Henderson crake Zapornia atra(North, AJ, 1908)146
Spotless crake Zapornia tabuensis(Gmelin, JF, 1789)147
Kosrae crake Zapornia monasa(Kittlitz, FH, 1858) (Extinct)148

References

  1. AviList Core Team (2025). "AviList: The Global Avian Checklist, v2025". doi: 10.2173/avilist.v2025 . Retrieved 3 November 2025.