Sarothruridae is a family of small- to medium-sized ground-living birds found mostly in

Madagascar Madagascar (; mg, Madagasikara, ), officially the Republic of Madagascar ( mg, Repoblikan'i Madagasikara, links=no, ; french: République de Madagascar), is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately off the coast of East Africa ...

and sub-Saharan Africa, with the genus ''Rallicula'' being restricted to

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu Hiri Motu, also known as Police Motu, Pidgin Motu, or just Hiri, is a language of Papua New Guinea, which is spoken in surrounding areas of Port Moresby (Capital of Papua New Guinea). It is a simplified version of ...

and the

Moluccas The Maluku Islands (; Indonesian: ''Kepulauan Maluku'') or the Moluccas () are an archipelago in the east of Indonesia. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located eas ...

. The species in this family were once considered to sit with the larger rail family

Rallidae The rails, or Rallidae, are a large cosmopolitan family of small- to medium-sized, ground-living birds. The family exhibits considerable diversity and includes the crakes, coots, and gallinules. Many species are associated with wetlands, althoug ...

. The family contains 3 genera. *Genus ''

Sarothrura Flufftails (genus ''Sarothrura'') are small birds related to rails and finfoots. There are nine species, seven of which are distributed across sub-Saharan Africa, with the remaining two in Madagascar. The genus was long placed with the rail fami ...

'' (flufftails; 9 species) ** White-spotted flufftail, ''Sarothrura pulchra'' **

Buff-spotted flufftail The buff-spotted flufftail (''Sarothrura elegans'') is a species of bird in the family Sarothruridae. It is found in Angola, Botswana, Burundi, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, ...

, ''Sarothrura elegans'' **

Red-chested flufftail The red-chested flufftail (''Sarothrura rufa'') is a species of bird in the family Sarothruridae Sarothruridae is a family of small- to medium-sized ground-living birds found mostly in Madagascar and sub-Saharan Africa, with the genus ''Rallic ...

, ''Sarothrura rufa'' ** Chestnut-headed flufftail, ''Sarothrura lugens'' ** Streaky-breasted flufftail, ''Sarothrura boehmi'' ** Striped flufftail, ''Sarothrura affinis'' **

Madagascar flufftail The Madagascar flufftail (''Sarothrura insularis'') is a species of bird in the family Sarothruridae. It is endemic to Madagascar. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest A forest is an area of land dominated ...

, ''Sarothrura insularis'' ** White-winged flufftail, ''Sarothrura ayresi'' ** Slender-billed flufftail, ''Sarothrura watersi'' *Genus ''

Mentocrex ''Mentocrex'' is a genus of birds in the flufftail family, Sarothruridae. The genus includes two species, both of which are endemic to forests in Madagascar. Species The genus contains two species. * Madagascar wood rail (''Mentocrex kioloides ...

'' (wood rails; 2 species) **

Madagascar wood rail The Madagascar wood rail (''Mentocrex kioloides''), also known as the kioloides rail, is a species of bird in the family Sarothruridae. It is endemic to forests, often in wet areas, in northern and eastern Madagascar. The Madagascar wood rail is a ...

(''Mentocrex kioloides'') **

Tsingy wood rail The Tsingy wood rail (''Mentocrex beankaensis'') is a species of bird in the family Sarothruridae that was scientifically described in 2011. It is endemic to areas with dry deciduous forest and limestone karst in the lowlands of west-central Ma ...

(''Mentocrex beankaensis'') *Genus ''

Rallicula ''Rallicula'' is a genus of bird in the family Sarothruridae. It contains four species endemic to the island of New Guinea. * Chestnut forest rail, ''Rallicula rubra'' * White-striped forest rail, ''Rallicula leucospila'' * Forbes's forest rail ...

'' (forest rails; 4 species) **

White-striped forest rail The white-striped forest rail (''Rallicula leucospila'') is a species of bird in the family Sarothruridae. It is endemic to West Papua, Indonesia. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical moist montane forests. It is threatened by habit ...

(''Rallicula leucospila'') ** Chestnut forest rail (''Rallicula rubra'') ** Forbes's forest rail (''Rallicula forbesi'') ** Mayr's forest rail (''Rallicula mayri'')

References

{{Gruiformes-stub