Bird Album
Corn Crake
Crex crex (Linnaeus, 1758)
27–30 cmLength50 cmWingspan155 gWeight
In the breeding season, the male hides in grass and gives a loud “krek krek”.
Busiest months: May · Most records: Israel, Russia, Lithuania
How to identify
Field marks
- Adult has chestnut upperwing coverts with white barring
- Male has a blue-gray face, neck and breast in the breeding season
- Adult has alternating chestnut and white barring on the flanks
- Stout, flesh-colored bill and pale gray legs and feet
Male, female and young
Juvenile has yellowish upperparts, with yellowish-brown replacing the gray on the underparts.
Voice
On the breeding grounds, the male gives a loud, rough “krek krek”, repeated over and over.
Where and when it's recorded
Corn Crake has been recorded at 324 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 68 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
Where it's recorded most
- International Birding and Research Center Eilat (IBRCE)Israel209 records
- Vinogradovo FloodplainsRussia124 records
- Cerkniško jezero | Lake CerknicaSlovenia92 records
More places
- Sausgalviai Meadows Botanical-Zoological PreserveLithuania83 records
- Kazimierz Górniczy – SosnowieckaPoland67 records
- Lotoshino Fish FarmRussia64 records
- Izmailovsky ParkRussia63 records
- Årike FyrisSweden54 records
- Dedinovo FloodplainsRussia49 records
- Zagreb – Retencija BlatoCroatia47 records
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The corn crake, corncrake or landrail (Crex crex) is a bird in the rail family. It breeds in Europe and Asia as far east as western China, and migrates to Africa for the Northern Hemisphere's winter.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Corn Crake?
The Corn Crake is about 27–30 cm long, with a wingspan of 50 cm and weighs around 155 g.
Where does the Corn Crake live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic: Europe to central Siberia and northwestern China. It is most often recorded in Israel, Russia and Lithuania.
When is the best time to see the Corn Crake?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in May (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Corn Crake endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Corn Crake as Least Concern.
What does the Corn Crake eat?
Main food: Omnivore.
What family is the Corn Crake in?
It belongs to the family Rails, Crakes & Coots (Rallidae), order Gruiformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 27–30 cm
- Wingspan
- 50 cm
- Weight
- 155 g
- Habitat
- Grassland
- Diet
- Omnivore
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Migratory
- Conservation
- Least Concern
More measurements
- Wing
- 137 mm
- Tail
- 51 mm
- Bill
- 24 mm
- Tarsus
- 40 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic: Europe to central Siberia and northwestern China
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Rails, Crakes & Coots Rallidae
- Genus
- Crex
More from the family Rails, Crakes & Coots
Grey-throated RailCanirallus oculeus
Chestnut-headed CrakeAnurolimnas castaneiceps
Spotted RailPardirallus maculatus
Blackish RailPardirallus nigricans
Plumbeous RailPardirallus sanguinolentus
Ash-throated CrakeMustelirallus albicollis
Zapata RailMustelirallus cerverai
Colombian CrakeMustelirallus colombianus
Paint-billed CrakeMustelirallus erythrops
Uniform CrakeAmaurolimnas concolor
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by phillipnangle. ↗
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