Jeff Wendorff's photography portfolio
Rails,
Coots, and
Gallinule in the family, Rallidae.
Rallidae Wiki The
rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and also includes the
crakes,
coots, and
gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, although the family is found in every terrestrial habitat except dry deserts, polar regions, and alpine areas above the snow line. Members of the
Rallidae occur on every continent except Antarctica. There are numerous island species. The most common rail habitats are marshland or dense forest. They are particularly fond of dense vegetation.
The
rails are a relatively homogeneous family of small to medium-sized, ground-living birds. They vary in length from 12 to 63 cm (4.7 to 24.8 in) and in weight from 20 to 3,000 g (0.71 to 105.82 oz). Some species have long necks and in many cases are laterally compressed.
The bill is the most variable feature within the family. In some species, it is longer than the head (like the clapper rail of the Americas), in others it may be short and wide (as in the coots), or massive (as in the purple gallinules). A few
coots and gallinules have a frontal shield, which is a fleshy, rearward extension of the upper bill. The most sophisticated frontal shield is found in the horned coot
Rails exhibit very little sexual dimorphism in either plumage or size.
Grebes Photographed African Swamphen, Porphyrio madagascariensis
American Coot, Fulica americanus
Black Crake, Amaurornis flavirostra
Common Moorhen, Gallinula chloropus
Eurasian Coot, Fulica atra
Gray-necked Wood Rail, Aramides cajaneus
Purple Gallinule, Porphyrio martinica
Red-knobbed Coot, Fulica cristata Collective Noun Coots, Rails and Galinules The collective nouns for a group of
coots are a commotion, cover, covert, fleet, raft, swarm.
A group of
moorhens is a plump.
For Rails in flight, the collective noun is a Balustrade. I can't find one for a group of
rails just hanging out, si I think that collective noun should be a track.
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