Kebnat

Cranes, Rails, and Allies

Gruiformes · 9 species · 2 families

In Québec, the order Gruiformes brings together 9 species of birds, in 2 families. The stars? Sandhill Crane, Sora and Virginia Rail, the most often observed. The richest region: Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean, with 7 species. Every species has its own page: photos, its sounds, its season, its habitat and the best places to see it near you.

Species observed by region

Where do the observations come from?

  • Mostly iNaturalist : photos taken by people all over Québec, with the species confirmed by the community.
  • Other public sources : such as eBird for birds and the provincial forest inventories, gathered by GBIF, the global biodiversity data network.
  • What we keep : confirmed observations, with an exact position (not blurred to protect a rare species), that their author allows to be reused.
  • One place counts once : several observations of the same species at the same spot (within 11 m) count as one.
  • So our numbers are lower : than iNaturalist’s total. A region without observations does not mean the species does not live there.

Data downloaded in September 2026.

  1. Saguenay–Lac-Saint-Jean7
  2. Estrie7
  3. Abitibi-Témiscamingue7
  4. Gaspésie–Îles-de-la-Madeleine7
  5. Montérégie7
  6. Bas-Saint-Laurent6
  7. Capitale-Nationale6
  8. Outaouais6
  9. Côte-Nord6
  10. Nord-du-Québec6
  11. Chaudière-Appalaches6
  12. Centre-du-Québec6
  13. Mauricie5
  14. Montréal5
  15. Laval5
  16. Lanaudière5
  17. Laurentides5

Cranes, Rails, and Allies 9

Gruiformes
All439Passeriformes181Charadriiformes80Anseriformes56Pelecaniformes18Accipitriformes15Galliformes13Strigiformes11Gruiformes9Piciformes9Columbiformes8Apodiformes5Falconiformes5Podicipediformes5Suliformes5Procellariiformes4Caprimulgiformes3Gaviiformes3Psittaciformes3Cathartiformes2Cuculiformes2Ciconiiformes1Coraciiformes1
Family
All9Rallidae7Gruidae2
Sandhill Crane8,868 observations
Sora2,768 observations
Virginia Rail2,518 observations
Common Gallinule1,864 observations
American Coot1,704 observations
Yellow Rail201 observations
Common Crane12 observations
Clapper Rail6 observations
Purple Gallinule5 observations