The Corncrake (Crex crex) is a bird heard far more often than it is seen, a secretive rail of hay meadows whose rhythmic "krek-krek" rasps through the summer night while the bird itself stays hidden in dense vegetation. It is sandy to greyish-brown above with dense black spotting, grey below with rust and white barring on the flanks, and shows striking chestnut-red wing patches that flash into view only when it is forced into a short, weak-looking flight. Measuring 27-30 cm with a wingspan of 42-53 cm, its stout bill, blue-grey face and pale legs, trailed behind in flight, complete a bird that runs rather than flies at the first sign of disturbance.
The male's call, so distinctive it gave the species its scientific name Crex crex, is repeated in long, monotonous series mainly at night and dawn, and is notoriously hard to pinpoint because the calling bird constantly turns its head, making the sound seem to shift position. Corncrakes are long-distance migrants that winter in sub-Saharan Africa and breed in Sweden's remaining hay meadows and extensively grazed farmland, concentrated on Öland, Gotland and in central Swedish farming districts. The female alone incubates a clutch of 6-14 eggs, usually 8-12, for 16-20 days, while the male takes no part in raising the precocial young, which fledge after around 50 days. Diet consists mainly of insects, earthworms, snails and spiders, with seeds and plant matter taken outside the breeding season. Early, mechanised mowing is the species' greatest threat, destroying nests and killing broods before chicks can escape. Reclassified as Endangered in Sweden in 2025, the population has fallen roughly 45 percent in twelve years to around 1,600 reproductive individuals, even though the species remains globally secure thanks to large, stable populations in Russia and Kazakhstan.
Read about this species in Swedish →