CreatureData

Nkulengu rail

Himantornis haematopus Hartlaub, 1855

LCLeast Concernbirds

The nkulengu rail (Himantornis haematopus) is a species in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes. Recorded adults weigh 542.8 g to 630 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Nkulengu rail (Himantornis haematopus)
Photo: Charles J. Sharp · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the nkulengu rail

Weight
542.8 g – 630 gsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
forestsrc for Habitat
Young per litter or clutch
3src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the nkulengu rail live?

Not recorded

What is the nkulengu rail?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Nkulengu rail (Himantornis haematopus) is a species of bird in the family Rallidae. It belongs to the monotypic genus Himantornis.

For long, this singular rail was considered a member of a distinct subfamily Himantornithinae. This was based on the assumption that it was a sort of "living fossil", as it resembles other Gruiformes rather than other rails in many traits. But as it seems, the supposed plesiomorphies are actually atavistic or otherwise re-evolved traits in reaction to its African rainforest habitat. Its closest living relatives seem to be the Asian genera Amaurornis, Gallicrex, Megacrex, and the widespread African Aenigmatolimnas, with Megacrex and Himantornis representing ancient and ecologically quite similar lineages at the extreme ends of the group's distribution. However a later genetic study found that it was basal to the radiation containing Porzana, Tribonyx, Gallinula and Fulica.

It is found in Angola, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ghana, Guinea, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Togo, and Uganda.

It is notoriously difficult to visually observe, preferring to hide, but has a loud and distinctive call often made in pairs.

From the Wikipedia article “Nkulengu rail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Nkulengu_rail&oldid=1379847650), 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 nkulengu rail endangered?

The nkulengu rail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  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 Least Concern species.

How is the nkulengu rail classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderGruiformes
  5. familyRallidae
  6. genusHimantornis
  7. SpeciesHimantornis haematopus Hartlaub, 1855

Synonyms Himantornis haematopus haematopus, Himantornis haematopus petiti, Himantornis haematopus whitesidei, Himantornis whitesidei, Psammocrex petiti

Other names and names in other languages (32)
  • مرعة نكولنغوArabic
  • Qərbi Afrika qırmızıayaq sufərəsiAzerbaijani
  • rascló cama-roigCatalan
  • chřástal šedohlavýCzech
  • rhegen NkulenguWelsh
  • NkulengurikseDanish
  • RotfußralleGerman
  • sangokrura raloEsperanto
  • Rascón nkulengaSpanish
  • kurgruikEstonian
  • kurkirääkkäFinnish
  • Râle à pieds rougesFrench
  • velika vizlinicaCroatian
  • vöröslábú guvatHungarian
  • Rallo di NkulenguItalian
  • ウロコクイナJapanese
  • krūminė vištelėLithuanian
  • NkulenguralDutch
  • chruścielońPolish
  • sanã-nkulenguPortuguese
  • frango-d'água-de-patas-vermelhasPortuguese
  • frango-d'água-de-pés-vermelhosPortuguese
  • frango-de-água-de-pés-vermelhosPortuguese
  • Красноногий пастушокRussian
  • Западноафриканский красноногий пастушокRussian
  • kulenga červenonoháSlovak
  • Nkulengu šumski petlićSerbian
  • nkulengurallSwedish
  • Turaç YelvesiTurkish
  • пастушок червононогийUkrainian
  • 噪秧鸡Chinese
  • 紋眉秧雞Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the nkulengu rail

Other species in the same family Rallidae.

LC, Least Concern
Water rail (Rallus aquaticus)

Water rail

Rallus aquaticus

Rallidae

CompareNkulengu rail vs Eurasian cootNkulengu rail vs Common moorhenNkulengu rail vs Corn crakeNkulengu rail vs Water rail

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the nkulengu rail?

An adult nkulengu rail weighs 542.8 g – 630 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the nkulengu rail endangered?

The nkulengu rail is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

What kind of animal is the nkulengu rail?

The nkulengu rail (Himantornis haematopus) 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). Nkulengu rail (Himantornis haematopus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/nkulengu-rail

MLA

“Nkulengu rail (Himantornis haematopus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/nkulengu-rail.

BibTeX
@misc{nkulengu_rail_2026,
  title = {Nkulengu rail (Himantornis haematopus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/nkulengu-rail},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}