Okinawa rail
Hypotaenidia okinawae (Yamashina & Mano, 1981)
The okinawa rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae) is a species in the family Rallidae, order Gruiformes. Recorded adults weigh 433 g to 433.8 g. Its IUCN Red List status is Endangered.
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Quick facts about the okinawa rail
- Weight
- 433 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Diet
- Invertivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- forestsrc for Habitat
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Sedentarysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Endangered (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the okinawa rail live?
Not recorded
What is the okinawa rail?
The Okinawa rail (Gallirallus okinawae) is a species of bird in the rail family, Rallidae. It is endemic to Okinawa Island in Japan where it is known as the Yanbaru kuina (ヤンバルクイナ(山原水鶏), "Yanbaru rail"). Its existence was only confirmed in 1978 and it was formally described in 1981 although unidentified rails had been recorded on the island since at least 1973 and local stories of a bird known as the agachi kumira may refer to this species. The species was formerly placed in the genus Hypotaenidia.
It is a medium-sized and almost flightless rail with short wings and tail, olive-brown upperparts, black underparts with white bars and a red bill and legs.
It occurs in subtropical moist forests and in neighboring habitats. It nests and feeds on the ground but usually roosts in trees. It is classified as an endangered species and is threatened by habitat loss and introduced predators.
From the Wikipedia article “Okinawa rail” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Okinawa_rail&oldid=1383635572), 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 okinawa rail endangered?
The okinawa rail is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List: it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Endangered species.
How is the okinawa rail classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderGruiformes
- familyRallidae
- genusHypotaenidia
- SpeciesHypotaenidia okinawae (Yamashina & Mano, 1981)
Synonyms Gallirallus okinawae, Habropteryx okinawae, Rallus okinawae
Other names and names in other languages (30)
- rascló d'OkinawaCatalan
- chřástal okinawskýCzech
- OkinawarikseDanish
- OkinawaralleGerman
- okinavo raloEsperanto
- Rascón de OkinawaSpanish
- okinawa ruikEstonian
- okinawanluhtakanaFinnish
- Râle d'OkinawaFrench
- Râle d’OkinawaFrench
- okinavska kokošicaCroatian
- okinawai guvatHungarian
- Rallo di OkinawaItalian
- ヤンバルクイナJapanese
- okinavinė vištelėLithuanian
- Okinavas rallisLatvian
- OkinawaralDutch
- wodnik okinawskiPolish
- sanã-de-okinawaPortuguese
- frango-d'água-de-okinawaPortuguese
- frango-de-água-de-oquinavaPortuguese
- Окинавский трескунRussian
- Окинавский пастушокRussian
- chriašteľ okinavskýSlovak
- Petlovan sa OkinaveSerbian
- okinawarallSwedish
- Okinava YelvesiTurkish
- пастушок окінавськийUkrainian
- 冲绳秧鸡Chinese
- 沖繩秧雞Chinese
Relatives of the okinawa rail
Other species in the same genus Hypotaenidia.

Barred rail
Hypotaenidia torquata
Bar-winged rail
Hypotaenidia poeciloptera
Lord Howe woodhen
Hypotaenidia sylvestris
Dieffenbach's rail
Hypotaenidia dieffenbachii
Pink-legged rail
Hypotaenidia insignis
CompareOkinawa rail vs Barred railOkinawa rail vs Bar-winged railOkinawa rail vs Hypotaenidia vavauensisOkinawa rail vs Lord Howe woodhen
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the okinawa rail?
An adult okinawa rail weighs 433 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the okinawa rail endangered?
The okinawa rail is listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a very high risk of extinction in the wild.
What kind of animal is the okinawa rail?
The okinawa rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae) 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.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Okinawa rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/okinawa-rail
“Okinawa rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/okinawa-rail.
@misc{okinawa_rail_2026,
title = {Okinawa rail (Hypotaenidia okinawae)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/okinawa-rail},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}