Porzana is a genus of birds in the crake or rail family, Rallidae. It has a global distribution, contains 13 living species, and 4-5 recently extinct ones. In addition, a large number of prehistorically extinct species known only from fossil or subfossil remains have been discovered.

Living species

• Porzana parva Scopoli, 1769 - Little Crake (breeds in Eurasia, winters in Africa)
• Porzana pusilla Pallas, 1776 - Baillon's Crake (breeds in Eurasia, winters in east Africa and South Asia)
• Porzana porzana Linnaeus, 1766 - Spotted Crake (breeds in Eurasia, winters in Africa and India)
• Porzana fluminea Gould, 1843 - Australian Spotted Crake
• Porzana carolina Linnaeus, 1758 - Sora (North America)
• Porzana spiloptera Durnford, 1877 - Dot-winged Crake (Argentina, Brazil, Uruguay)
• Porzana albicollis Vieillot, 1819 - Ash-throated Crake (South America)
• Porzana fusca Linnaeus, 1766 - Ruddy-breasted Crake (Asia)
• Porzana paykullii Ljungh, 1813 - Band-bellied Crake (East Asia)
• Porzana tabuensis Gmelin, 1789 - Spotless Crake (Oceania)
• Porzana atra North, 1980 - Red-eyed Crake (Henderson Island)
• Porzana flaviventer Boddaert, 1783 - Yellow-breasted Crake (Central and South America, Caribbean)
• Porzana cinerea Vieillot, 1819 - White-browed Crake (East Asia, Oceania)

Extinct species

• Porzana palmeri Frohawk, 1892 - Laysan Rail, (1944)
• Porzana sandwichensis Gmelin, 1789 - Hawaiian Rail, (c.1890)
• Porzana monasa - Kosrae Crake, (c. mid-late 19th century)
• Porzana nigra J. F. Miller, 1784 - Miller's Rail, (18th century) only known by two paintings
• Porzana astrictocarpus Olson, 1973 - Saint Helena Crake, (early 16th century)
• Porzana ralphorum Olson, 1973 - Great Oʻahu Crake, (prehistoric)
• Porzana severnsi Olson, 1973 - Great Maui Crake (prehistoric)
• Porzana rua - Mangaia Crake (prehistoric)
• Porzana menehune - Liliput Crake (prehistoric)
• Porzana ziegleri - Small Oʻahu Crake (prehistoric)
• Porzana keplerorum - Small Maui Crake (prehistoric)
• Porzana estramosi - (Sajóvölgyi Middle? - Late Miocene of Hungary)
• Porzana piercei - (Shore Hills Late Pleistocene of Bermuda, W Atlantic)
• Porzana cf. flaviventer (Bermuda, West Atlantic)
• Easter Island Crake, Porzana sp. (prehistoric)
• Great Big Island Crake, Porzana sp. (prehistoric)
• Great Kauaʻi Crake, Porzana sp. (prehistoric)
• Huahine Crake, Porzana sp. (prehistoric)
• Mangaia Crake#2, Porzana sp. (prehistoric)
• Marquesas Crake, Porzana sp. (prehistoric)
• Marianas Crake, Porzana sp. (prehistoric) - possibly 2 species
• Medium Kauaʻi Crake, Porzana sp. (prehistoric)
• Medium Maui Crake, Porzana sp. (prehistoric)
• Small Big Island Crake, Porzana sp. (prehistoric)

The Middle Pleistocene fossil described as Porzana auffenbergi is now placed in Rallus.

References

• Taylor, P. Barry & van Perlo, Ber (1998): Rails : a guide to the rails, crakes, gallinules, and coots of the world. Yale University Press, New Haven. ISBN 0-300-07758-0.

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