Gruiformes

These are the large bustards in the order Otidae, the equally large cranes and the small rails and crakes.

The Sibley-Ahlquist taxonomy which has been widely accepted in America, raises the rail family to order level as the Galliformes.

• Sibley, C. G., and J. Ahlquist. 1990. Phylogeny and classification of birds. Yale University Press, New Haven, Conn.
• Taxonomic recommendations for British birds. Ibis (2002), 144, 707–710. Alan g. Knox, Martin Collinson, Andreas J. Helbig, David T. Parkin & George Sangster