Rails, Crakes, Gallinules, and Coots
Order: Gruiformes. Family: Rallidae
Rallidae is a large family of small to medium-sized birds which includes the rails, crakes, coots, and gallinules. Typically they inhabit dense vegetation in damp environments near lakes, swamps, or rivers. In general they are shy and secretive birds, difficult to observe. Most species have strong legs, and have long toes which are well adapted to soft, uneven surfaces. They tend to have short, rounded wings and be weak fliers. There are about 143 species worldwide and 9 species which occur in Ireland.
| Common name | Binomial | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Water Rail | Rallus aquaticus | |
| Corn Crake | Crex crex | |
| Little Crake | Porzana parva | (A) |
| Baillon's Crake | Porzana pusilla | (A) |
| Spotted Crake | Porzana porzana | (A) |
| Sora | Porzana carolina | (A) |
| Common Moorhen | Gallinula chloropus | |
| Eurasian Coot | Fulica atra | |
| American Coot | Fulica americana | (A) |
Read more about this topic: List Of Birds Of Ireland