DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/vzoo-2014-0028
Some features of pelvic and hindlimb morphology of several ecologically diff erent species of rallids are studied. Adaptive signifi cances of these features are revealed. A special attention is paid to the hindlimb skeleton of the Coot (Fulica atra, Linnaeus, 1758), which retained the locomotor universalism despite adaptations to swimming and diving.