[3] However, molecular phylogenetic analyses have confirmed the suspicion, raised in the late 20th century in the first cladistic studies of morphology, that the "genus" Porzana is rather an evolutionary grade, consisting of an assemblage of unrelated plesiomorphic rails.

The ash-throated crake, which was only tentatively placed in Porzana, has been united with the two former species of Neocrex in Mustelirallus; they are almost certainly closely related to Pardirallus.

Several species have patterns like whitish dots or black-and-white barred flanks, conspicuous close up, but at a distance providing additional camouflage in these birds' habitat.

Some, however, are (or were) found on rocky islands with little water; even these, though, prefer places where abundant vegetation provides a dense ground-cover to hide in.

When foraging, they will investigate anything that catches their attention and is not considered a predator; in some places, this even includes any humans and their food or equipment that visit these birds' habitat.

They can swim if they need to and even dive a bit, but not for extended distances; rather, they prefer to clamber through dense reeds to escape threats, or walk on floating vegetation or just passively drift around a spot when foraging.

[6] As usual for Rallidae, their flight is rather clumsy and their navigation skills and ability to maintain course against the wind are poor; on the other hand, their stamina in the air is exception for their small size; several species migrate thousands of kilometers every spring and autumn, while others originated from wind-blown individuals swept to oceanic islands just as far away from any continent.

In this regard, Porzana presently in fact stands supreme among the Rallidae, and even among birds in general it is quite remarkable for its radiation of oceanic island lineages.

Gallirallus rivals it in extent, but unlike the cosmopolitan Porzana crakes these rails simply originate in the region next to Oceania and have otherwise not much spread beyond.

However, the nest cup is carefully lined with soft dry plant material, feathers or hair, which the parents collect specifically for this purpose.

More importantly, the comparatively abundant remains from around 4 million years ago may indicate that even Porzana proper had its near-cosmopolitan distribution at that time already.