corncrake

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corncrake

a common Eurasian rail, Crex crex, of fields and meadows, with a buff speckled plumage and reddish wings

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

The following article is from The Great Soviet Encyclopedia (1979). It might be outdated or ideologically biased.

Corncrake

(Crex crex) a bird of the family Rallidae of the order Gruiformes. The body measures about 27 cm in length, and the weight is approximately 150 g. The body is laterally compressed. The back and head are reddish brown and the underparts grayish.

The corncrake is found in Europe and Southwest Asia. In the USSR it is distributed from the country’s western border to Lake Baikal and from 61°–63° N lat. to Transcaucasia and the semidesert zone. It winters in central and southern Africa. The bird lives in damp meadows and forest glades and penetrates into the mountains along river valleys. It runs swiftly and does not take to the air when chased. In the spring the male emits loud, monosyllabic, rasping cries. The corncrake nests on the ground. A clutch contains seven to 12 eggs, which the female incubates for 15–17 days. Newly hatched nestlings are covered with black-brown down. The birds feed on small invertebrates and seeds. They are hunted for sport.

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Related to the moorhen, corncrakes are very secretive, spending most of their time hidden in tall vegetation, their presence only betrayed by their rasping call.

The long road; Victoria Farncombe meets a cyclist hoping to set a record around nature reserves

How many of you have seen / heard a Stag Beetle and or a Corncrake? Not many, I'll wager - not that I think you hear Stag Beetles much.

Smoking Ban; Voice of the North

BirdWatch Ireland has been battling for 11 years to try to save the dwindling number of corncrakes, which are on an international environmental "red list" because of the threat they face.

CORNCRAKE ON WAY BACK

The reality is we had days in June during the census in Mayo, Donegal and Galway like today and corncrakes won't call with same level of wind."

Crake of doom; Blow as iconic bird vanishes from former breeding ground

OUR last trip to London Zoo looks at some of their conservation work - from the Nepalese one-horned rhino to tiny frogs and a sweet British bird, the corncrake.

Record tv; PICK OF THE DAY

A team, led by Dr Mark Whittingham of Newcastle University's School of Biology and partners, says that current UK agri-environment schemes have worked well when targeted at the needs of such rare and localised species as corncrakes and stone curlews.

Radio tags bring good news of rare harriers

The new member states excluding Malta, are home to a disproportionate share of the European Union's farmland birds, including all of the globally threatened aquatic warblers, 98% of the EU's imperial eagles, 92% of the EU's corncrakes, almost three out of every four (78%) of the EU's white storks and more than half (55%) of the EU's roller population.

Wild birds in new EU states 'need protection from intensive methods'

At Sandwell Valley Nature Reserve farmland has been cultivated in a way sensitive to birds in a bid to encourage the return of corncrakes, skylarks and linnets.

Rural Matters: Rare birds flocking back to Midlands

Nor do I recall there being many corncrakes for the SNH anoraks to study around Arthur's Seat, whereas they're now returning in record numbers to Wester Ross.

Selina Scott: Get closer to a corncrake for pounds 200,000; Share the jobs but don't splash cash

According to Tim Gordon of BirdWatch Ireland: "Corncrakes were heard from mid-July at new locations, including at Rossport and near Ardagh (on the banks of Lough Conn), and were still calling until mid-August at Raghly and near Killadoon."