Rails (Rallidae) are small to medium-sized water birds that mainly live a hidden life in shore and marsh vegetation. In dense vegetation in marshes or along the banks of bodies of water they nest and move through this thicket incredibly deftly. If they momentarily appear from the shelter of the plants, we will instantly recognize them by their very large legs, which look far too large for their somewhat dumpy body. Rails truly come alive only at night. Then they begin to call loudly and announce their presence, but a person would not attribute these sounds to a bird, as rails prefer to squeal, croak and rattle rather than sing. Of ours stand out the liska and the green-legged rail. They sing more beautifully, they are not so shy and you can usually observe them while swimming.
Because representatives of the rail family are mainly tied to wetlands, damp meadows, swampy forests and overgrown water bodies, they are among the most endangered birds in the world, as their habitat continues to disappear due to the drying of marshes, floodplains and regulation of waterways. The members of the rails are mainly migratory, moving on their short rounded wings under the cover of night. At Lake Cerknica six species of rails nest there, the best known among them being kosec.
