CreatureData

Madagascar rail

Rallus madagascariensis J. Verreaux, 1833

VUVulnerablebirds

The madagascar rail (Rallus madagascariensis) is a species in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes. Recorded adults weigh 114 g to 118 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Madagascar rail (Rallus madagascariensis)
Photo: Marc Athanase Parfait Œillet Des Murs (1804-1878) · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the madagascar rail

Weight
114 g – 118 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the madagascar rail live?

Not recorded

What is the madagascar rail?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Madagascar rail (Rallus madagascariensis) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It is endemic to Madagascar.

This is a medium-sized rail measuring 25 cm (9.8 in). Its plumage is mostly plain brown with some streaks on the upperparts and upper breast. Its face and throat are greyish and its undertail is white. The bill is red and the legs are dark.

Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical moist montane forest, and freshwater marshes.

It is threatened by habitat loss.

From the Wikipedia article “Madagascar rail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Madagascar_rail&oldid=1371076736), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the madagascar rail endangered?

The madagascar rail is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.

How is the madagascar rail classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGruiformes
  5. familyRallidae
  6. genusRallus
  7. SpeciesRallus madagascariensis J. Verreaux, 1833
Other names and names in other languages (40)
  • Madagascan railEnglish
  • Madagascan railEnglish
  • Madagascar water railEnglish
  • Madagascar water railEnglish
  • مرعة مدغشقريةArabic
  • rascló de MadagascarCatalan
  • chřástal madagaskarskýCzech
  • rhegen MadagasgarWelsh
  • MadagascarrikseDanish
  • MadagaskarralleGerman
  • Madagaskar-RalleGerman
  • MadagaskarwasserralleGerman
  • madagaskara raloEsperanto
  • Rascón malgacheSpanish
  • madagaskari rooruikEstonian
  • madagaskarinluhtakanaFinnish
  • Râle de MadagascarFrench
  • madagaskarska kokošicaCroatian
  • madagaszkári guvatHungarian
  • Porciglione del MadagascarItalian
  • チャムネクイナJapanese
  • madagaskarinė vištelėLithuanian
  • KikyMalagasy
  • MadagaskarwaterralDutch
  • madagaskarrikseNorwegian
  • wodnik madagaskarskiPolish
  • saracura-malgaxePortuguese
  • frango-d'água-de-madagascarPortuguese
  • frango-d'água-de-madagáscarPortuguese
  • frango-d'água-malgaxePortuguese
  • frango-de-água-de-madagáscarPortuguese
  • Мадагаскарский пастушокRussian
  • chriašteľ madagaskarskýSlovak
  • Smeđi madagaskarski petlovanSerbian
  • madagaskarrallSwedish
  • Madagaskar SukılavuzuTurkish
  • пастушок мадагаскарськийUkrainian
  • 馬島秧雞Chinese
  • 馬達加斯加秧雞Chinese
  • 马岛秧鸡Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the madagascar rail

Other species in the same genus Rallus.

LC, Least Concern
Water rail (Rallus aquaticus)

Water rail

Rallus aquaticus

Rallidae

NT, Near Threatened
King rail (Rallus elegans)

King rail

Rallus elegans

Rallidae

CompareMadagascar rail vs Water railMadagascar rail vs African railMadagascar rail vs Bogotá railMadagascar rail vs Virginia rail

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the madagascar rail?

An adult madagascar rail weighs 114 g – 118 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the madagascar rail endangered?

The madagascar rail is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the madagascar rail?

The madagascar rail (Rallus madagascariensis) belongs to the family Rallidae in the order Gruiformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Madagascar rail (Rallus madagascariensis). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/madagascar-rail

MLA

“Madagascar rail (Rallus madagascariensis).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/madagascar-rail.

BibTeX
@misc{madagascar_rail_2026,
  title = {Madagascar rail (Rallus madagascariensis)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/madagascar-rail},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}