Corn Crake (Crex crex)

Measurements: 22-24cm long.

You won’t meet a Corn Crake in the same kind of habitat as the other rails. This is a dry land species that avoids standing water and excessively wet vegetation. It prefers meadows, grasslands, the dry edges of wetlands, arable fields and ditches. Ideally the herbage should be no more than 50cm tall, a little bit damp, and thick enough to hide a medium-sized rail.

By Richard Wesley – https://www.flickr.com/photos/balvicar/5480680608/, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=17725668

The Corn Crake is a summer visitor to Europe, arriving in the second half of April and departing for Africa in September after breeding. It was once common and widespread in Europe, but has suffered a disastrous decline as a result of changing farming methods, especially the cutting and mowing of fields during the breeding season, and the general intensification of agriculture. It is one of the few European birds currently in genuine danger of global extinction.

In common with other rails, the Corn Crake has a very distinctive voice. The scientific name Crex crex is a rendition of it; another way to appreciate is to imagine running a comb over the side of a matchbox twice in quick succession. This advertising call is mainly used at night, although it will also be stimulated by rainfall.

Recent research on the Corn Crake has revealed an interesting side to its breeding behaviour – it is often polygynous, the males having two or more mates rather than one. It seems that each male start the season with just one mate, but as the season progresses it will attract others by its continued advertising calls, and move its territorial borders a little to accommodate them.