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| The family Rallidae include rails, coots, gallinules, and crakes. They are small to medium-sized ground living birds. Some species have long necks and in many cases their bodies are laterally compressed. Their legs are long. Their feet have very long and thin toes that help some species walk on floating vegetation. The bill is the most variable feature within the family: in some species it is longer than the head; in others it may be short and wide, or short and thick. A few coots and gallinules have a frontal shield, which is a fleshy rearward extension of the upper bill. Rails exhibit very little sexual dimorphism in | either plumage or size. 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. The most common rail habitats are marshland or dense forest. They are especially fond of dense vegetation. Members of the Rallidae occur on every continent except Antarctica. There are 12 genera and 28 species of members of the Family Rallidae known to occur in Peru. Photo (left): Andean Coot by ©Manuel Roncal. Photo (right): Gray-necked Woodrail. Creative Commons. |
| Family RALLIDAE | ||
| Rails, Gallinules, Coots, Crakes | Rascones, Pollas de Agua, Gallaretas | |
| Ocellated Crake | Gallineta de Ocelos | Micropygia schomburgkii |
| Clapper Rail | Rascón Manglero | Rallus longirostris |
| Virginia (Lesser) Rail | Rascón Menor | Rallus limicola |
| Bogota Rail | Rascón de Bogotá | Rallus semiplumbeus |
| Gray-cowled Wood-Rail | Rascón-Montés de Capucha Gris | Aramides cajanea |
| Rufous-necked Wood-Rail | Rascón-Montés de Cuello Rufo | Aramides axillaris |
| Red-winged Wood-Rail | Rascón-Montés de Ala Rojiza | Aramides calopterus |
| Uniform Crake | Gallineta Unicolor | Amaurolimnas concolor |
| Chestnut-headed Crake | Gallineta de Cabeza Castaña | Anurolimnas castaneiceps |
| Russet-crowned Crake | Gallineta de Corona Rufa | Anurolimnas viridis |
| Black-banded Crake | Gallineta Negra Bandeada | Anurolimnas fasciatus |
| Rufous-sided Crake | Gallineta de Flanco Rufo | Laterallus melanophaius |
| Gray-breasted Crake | Gallineta de Pecho Gris | Laterallus exilis |
| Black Rail | Gallineta Negra | Laterallus jamaicensis |
| White-throated Crake | Gallineta de Garganta Blanca | Laterallus albigularis |
| Ash-throated Crake | Gallineta de Garganta Ceniza | Porzana albicollis |
| Sora | Gallineta Sora | Porzana carolina (NB) |
| Paint-billed Crake | Gallineta de Pico Rojo | Neocrex erythrops |
| Spotted Rail | Rascón Moteado | Pardirallus maculatus |
| Blackish Rail | Rascón Negruzco | Pardirallus nigricans |
| Plumbeous Rail | Rascón Plomizo | Pardirallus sanguinolentus |
| Common Gallinule | Polla de Agua Común | Gallinula galeata |
| Purple Gallinule | Polla de Agua Morada | Porphyrio martinicus |
| Azure Gallinule | Polla de Agua Azulada | Porphyrio flavirostris (NB) |
| Red-fronted Coot | Gallareta de Frente Roja | Fulica rufifrons |
| Giant Coot | Gallareta Gigante | Fulica gigantea |
| Horned Coot | Gallareta Cornuda | Fulica cornuta (V) |
| Andean Coot | Gallareta Andina | Fulica ardesiaca |
| White-winged Coot | Gallareta de Frente Amarilla | Fulica leucoptera (V) |
 PSOPHIIDAE: Trumpeter – Trompeteros |
HELIORNITHIDAE: Sungrebe – Yacu Patito |