1. 20 Any of various water birds of the family Rallidae, as the gallinule, rail, or coot, that inhabit marshland.

2. Crake: see rail rail, common name for some members of the large family Rallidae, marsh and tropical forest birds that include the gallinule and the coot, two specialized rails.

3. The Coot is a small members of the rail, or Rallidae, family.They are genetically related to rails, moorhens, crakes, gallinules, and more.Most Coots have short beaks, fleshy frontal shields on their foreheads, and stout bodies.