693 Featured Specimen

Corn crake

Crex crex

A secretive rail of tall grasslands, more often heard at night giving a dry two-note call than seen.

Range

Habitat range map

Native range Occasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

Uses damp grassland, meadows, hayfields, riverside grass, and wintering savanna or farmland.

Brown plumage with dark markings, a gray face, and rufous wings are visible when it emerges from grass.

It walks through dense vegetation and rarely flies. Males call loudly at night to advertise territories.

Insects, earthworms, spiders, seeds, and shoots are picked from the ground and grass bases.

Hidden ground nests are placed in grassland, where early mowing can destroy eggs and chicks.

It declined sharply in parts of Europe, but delayed mowing and grassland management have helped some populations.