Gallirallus is a genus that contains about a dozen living species of rails that live in the Australasian-Pacific region. Many of these, for example the most well-known one - the bold and inquisitive weka of New Zealand - are flightless or nearly so; others such as the Buff-banded Rail, while not good flyers, can go for considerable distances once airborne. This has enabled the flying species of this genus to colonize islands all over the region.