Rails, gallinules and coots | Rallidae

Rallen | Rálidos | Rails, gallinules and coots

The body is flattened from side to side, so the bird can squeeze between dense reed and sedge; the toes are strikingly long, and lobed in the swimming species. This guide covers 37 species in thirteen genera, from the mangroves and marshes of the coast and the forest streams of the Amazonian lowlands to the reedbeds of high Andean lakes, where coots dominate the open water. The wings are short and rounded: over short distances they fly with a whirring beat and dangling legs, though some species migrate long distances by night. The short tail is flicked up as they walk, showing the often pale undertail, and the bill ranges from short and conical to long and slender according to the food taken. The nest is a cup of stems and leaves hidden above shallow water; clutches are large, and the black downy chicks follow their parents within a day and are fed bill to bill.