Birds That Are Kin to Cranes
Cranes don't have many close living relatives, but the ones they do have are found in a handful of families of birds: Eurypygidae, Heliornithidae, Aramidae, Psophiidae, Rallidae and Cariamidae. These birds, like the cranes, are found all over the world. They are all much smaller than the tall cranes, and some of them are flightless, or seem to fly with difficulty.
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Aramidae
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The limpkin is native to Florida and the West Indies down to Central America and much of South America. It's a bird around 26 inches long and lives in the marshes. It has a long neck, bill, legs and toes and small wings. It's a wading bird and eats water snails; the bill is adapted for shucking the snails out of their shells.
Psophiidae
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The darkwinged trumpeter is native to the lower Amazon basin and Central Brazil. It's about 20 inches long with a hunched back and long legs made for walking and running. It gets its name from its loud distress calls. The darkwinged trumpeter is capable of flight though it's flight seems labored. It eats fallen fruits, nuts and insects.
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Rallidae: Water Rail and Weka
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The water rail lives in swamps in Eurasia, North Africa and the Middle East. It has a long, probing bill that picks up aquatic insects, snails, frogs and other small animals. It also uses its bill to crack the skulls of smaller birds and mice. It can run quickly and is a good swimmer. The rough sided rail is a slender bird with speckled feathers that lives near the water in Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines and the West Pacific Islands. It's a timid bird that tends to hide in vegetation during the day. It eats insects, small mollusks, seeds and other parts of plants. The weka lives in New Zealand. It's a flightless bird that inhabits grassland and the edges of forests. Unlike its relatives, the weka isn't timid. It eats earthworms, snails, small birds, the eggs of other bids and seeds. The weka is about 23 inches long.
Rallidae: Flufftail and Sora
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The sora has long legs and toes for wading. The chestnut-headed flufftail is a small oval shaped bird about 6 inches long. The male has a rufous head and chest with soft black and white speckled feathers. It's nocturnal and feeds on insects, nuts and seeds. Like other flufftails, it lives in Africa. The sora lives in North America down to the northern part of South America. It usually hides among vegetation but comes out at dusk. It has a habit of walking over lily pads and eats insects and other small creatures. It grows to about 8 inches long.
Heliornithidae
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The duck-like African finfoot is found in most of Africa. It can swim well, either on the surface or with its head and neck out of the water. Its feet have fleshy toes that make for good paddles. The finfoot is a shy bird, about 23 inches long. The female is more brightly colored than the male.
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References
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