The genus is characterised by an ability to colonise relatively small and isolated islands and thereafter to evolve flightless forms, many of which became extinct following Polynesian settlement.

Many of the resultant flightless island endemics became extinct after the arrival of humans, which hunted these birds for food, introduced novel predators like rats, dogs or pigs, and upset the local ecosystems.

A common Polynesian name of these rails, mainly relatives of G. philippensis, is veka/weka (in English, this name is generally limited to Gallirallus australis).

On the other hand, Gallirallus species are (with the exception of the weka) notoriously retiring and shy birds with often drab coloration.

In the online list maintained by Frank Gill, Pamela Rasmussen and David Donsker on behalf of the International Ornithological Committee (IOC), the genus contains only one extant species:[1] These species were placed by BirdLife International and IUCN in the separate genus Hypotaenidia, but are still considered part of Gallirallus by The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World / eBird: The Calayan rail (formerly Gallirallus calayanensis) was placed into the genus Aptenorallus in 2021.