Crex crex
The Corn Crake, *Crex crex*, is a medium-sized, highly secretive migratory bird belonging to the rail family, Rallidae, renowned for its distinctive, rasping call rather than its elusive appearance. Measuring 27-30 cm in length with a wingspan of 46-53 cm and weighing 130-200 grams, its cryptic plumage features buff-brown upperparts streaked with dark brown, and paler, rufous-barred flanks. Adults exhibit a distinctive greyish-blue face, neck, and breast, contrasting with bright chestnut wing...
Primarily inhabits tall, dense grasslands, hay meadows, wet pastures, and cereal fields, preferring areas with undisturbed vegetation for cover and nesting. Typically found in lowland to mid-elevation areas, but can occur up to 1,000 meters.
Feeds primarily on a variety of invertebrates including grasshoppers, beetles, flies, spiders, and snails, supplemented with seeds, grass shoots, and occasionally small frogs. Forages by walking slowly through dense vegetation and pecking items from the ground or low foliage.
The Corn Crake is largely crepuscular and nocturnal, spending its days hidden deep within dense vegetation, making it notoriously difficult to observe. Males establish territories through incessant, loud calling, often for hours on end, particularly at dusk and dawn. Foraging involves slow, steal...
The Corn Crake breeds across a vast Palearctic range, extending from Western Europe eastward through central Asia to western China and southern Siberia. Its primary strongholds now lie in Eastern Europe, particularly in countries like Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, and Russia, where traditional farmin...
Least Concern
- The Corn Crake's scientific name, *Crex crex*, is onomatopoeic, directly mimicking its distinctive call. Its common name 'Cra-cra' in some languages also reflects this. - It is one of the most elusive birds in Europe, famously heard but rarely seen, spending almost its entire life hidden in tal...