The Sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to a habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on the...
Named for its whooping sound, the Whooping crane (Grus americana) is the tallest North American bird. The elegant Whooping crane represents one of the most well-known conservation stories in the United States and thus has captured the public...
The Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) is a large graceful East Asian crane. It is among the rarest cranes in the world. In some parts of its range, this bird is known as a symbol of luck, longevity, and fidelity.
The Sarus crane (Antigone antigone) is the world's tallest extant flying bird, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in). This crane, when standing, is as tall as a man. In India, these birds are considered symbols of marital fidelity,...
The American coot (Fulica americana) is a bird commonly mistaken for ducks. It is only distantly related to ducks and belongs to a separate order. Unlike the webbed feet of ducks, coots have broad, lobed scales on their lower legs and toes that fold...
The Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) is the world's third most endangered species of crane. Amongst cranes, its serrated bill makes it unique and enables it to easily feed on underground roots and slippery prey items. Among the cranes,...
The elegant Grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum) is one of Africa’s most majestic and beautiful birds. It is the national symbol and the national bird of Uganda. The name is due to its yellow crown of feathers, tipped with black. This crane...
The Eurasian coot (Fulica atra), also known as the Common coot, or Australian coot, is a member of the rail and crake bird family, the Rallidae. It is found in Europe, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and parts of North Africa. Similar-looking coot...
The Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus) is a bird species in the rail family (Rallidae) found across many parts of the Old World. These birds live around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands. The word 'moor' as a part of their...
The South Island takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) is a flightless swamphen. It is the largest living member of the rail family. It is often known by the abbreviated name takahē, which it shares with the recently extinct North Island takahē. Takahē...
The Demoiselle crane (Grus virgo) is the smallest of crane species. Its graceful appearance has led to numerous comparisons with beautiful women. This bird is symbolically significant in the culture of India, where it is known as Koonj or Kurjaa.
The Corn crake (Crex crex) is a medium-sized ground-dwelling bird that is found breeds in Europe and Asia and migrates to Africa to spend winter. Despite its elusive nature, the loud call has ensured the Corn crake has been noted in the literature...
The weka (Gallirallus australis) is a flightless bird species of the rail family. It is found only in New Zealand. The common name, "weka", is a Māori word. These birds are significant to some Māori iwi (tribes) who admire their curiosity and...
The Inaccessible Island rail (Laterallus rogersi) is a small secretive bird native to the isolated island in the south Atlantic. It is the smallest extant flightless bird in the world. The species was described by physician Percy Lowe in 1923 but...
The brolga (Antigone rubicunda ), formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithologist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.The...
The Australasian swamphen (Porphyrio melanotus ) is a species of swamphen (Porphyrio ) occurring in eastern Indonesia (the Moluccas, Aru and Kai Islands), Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand. In New Zealand, it is known as the pukeko (from...
The common gallinule (Gallinula galeata ) is a bird in the family Rallidae. It was split from the common moorhen by the American Ornithologists' Union in July 2011. It lives around well-vegetated marshes, ponds, canals, and other wetlands in the...
The white-breasted waterhen (Amaurornis phoenicurus ) is a waterbird of the rail and crake family, Rallidae, that is widely distributed across South and Southeast Asia. They are dark slaty birds with a clean white face, breast and belly. They are...
The blue crane (Grus paradisea ), also known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.
The limpkin (Aramus guarauna ), also called carrao, courlan, and crying bird, is a large wading bird related to rails and cranes, and the only extant species in the family Aramidae. It is found mostly in wetlands in warm parts of the Americas, from...
The Guam rail (Hypotaenidia owstoni ) is a species of flightless bird, endemic to the United States territory of Guam, where it is known locally as the Ko'ko' bird.
The black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis ) is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and remote parts of India and Bhutan. It is 139 cm (55 in) long with a 235 cm (7.8 ft) wingspan, and it weighs 5.5 kg (12 lbs). It is...
The sora (Porzana carolina ) is a small waterbird of the family Rallidae, sometimes also referred to as the sora rail or sora crake. The genus name Porzana is derived from Venetian terms for small rails, and Carolina refers to the Carolina Colony....
The purple gallinule (Porphyrio martinicus ) is a swamphen in the genus Porphyrio. It is in the order Gruiformes, meaning "crane-like", an order which also contains cranes, rails, and crakes. The purple gallinule is a rail species, placing it into...
The western swamphen (known as Purple Swamphen) (Porphyrio porphyrio ) is a swamphen in the rail family Rallidae, one of the six species of purple swamphen. From the French name talève sultane, it is also known as the sultana bird. This...
The black crowned crane (Balearica pavonina ) is a part of the family Gruidae, along with its sister species, the grey crowned crane. It is topped with its characteristic bristle-feathered golden crown. It is usually found in the shallow wetlands of...
The Virginia rail (Rallus limicola ) is a small waterbird, of the family Rallidae.These birds remain fairly common despite continuing loss of habitat, but are secretive by nature and more often heard than seen. They are also considered a game...
The water rail (Rallus aquaticus ) 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...
The Tasmanian nativehen (Tribonyx mortierii ) (palawa kani: piyura) (alternate spellings: Tasmanian native-hen or Tasmanian native hen) is a flightless rail and one of twelve species of birds endemic to the Australian island of Tasmania. Although...
The king rail (Rallus elegans ) is a waterbird, the largest North American rail.
The clapper rail (Rallus crepitans ) is a member of the rail family, Rallidae. The taxonomy for this species is confusing and still being determined. The Ridgway's rail (formerly the California clapper rail) and the mangrove rail have been recently...
The black rail (Laterallus jamaicensis ) is a mouse-sized member of the bird family Rallidae.
The white-naped crane (Antigone vipio ) is a bird of the crane family. It is a large bird, 112–125 cm (44–49 in) long, about 130 cm (4.3 ft) tall, and weighing about 5.6 kg (12 lb), with pinkish legs, a grey-and-white-striped neck, and a red face...
The yellow rail (Coturnicops noveboracensis ) is a small secretive marsh bird, of the family Rallidae.
The grey-headed swamphen (Porphyrio poliocephalus ) is a species of swamphen occurring from the Middle East and the Indian subcontinent to southern China and northern Thailand. It used to be considered a subspecies of the purple swamphen, but was...
The Hawaiian coot (Fulica alai ), also known as the ʻalae kea in Hawaiian, is a bird in the rail family, Rallidae, that is endemic to Hawaiʻi. In Hawaiian, ʻalae is a noun and means mud hen. Kea or its synonym keo is an adjective for white.It is...
The buff-banded rail (Hypotaenidia philippensis ) is a distinctively coloured, highly dispersive, medium-sized rail of the rail family, Rallidae. This species comprises several subspecies found throughout much of Australasia and the south-west...
The Common crane (Grus grus) is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the Demoiselle crane. Along with the Sandhill and Demoiselle cranes and the brolga, it is one of only four crane species not currently classified as threatened with...
The wattled crane (Grus carunculata ) is a large bird found in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Bugeranus.
The dusky moorhen (Gallinula tenebrosa ) is a bird species in the rail family and is one of the eight extant species in the moorhen genus. It occurs in India, Australia, New Guinea, Borneo and Indonesia. It is often confused with the purple swamphen...
The hooded crane (Grus monacha ) is a crane native to East Asia.
The Okinawa rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae ) is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island in Japan where it is known as the Yanbaru kuina (ヤンバルクイナ(山原水鶏), "Yanbaru rail"). Its existence was only confirmed in 1978...