Corn crake
- Corn crake, Alam-Pedja
- https://linnuriik.ee/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Rukkiraak_PeterLind_DDD_0978-2-sh-1-1024x682.jpg
- Keemu linnud
- https://linnuriik.ee/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/12_Rukkiraak_080710aa204153_Alam-Pedja.mp3
Corn crake. Photo: Peter Lind
Introduction
Latin Crex crex (L.)
Estonian Rukkirääk
Also known as: corncrake, landrail
Status in Estonia
Breeding and migratory bird.
Description
The corn crake is half the size of a grey partridge and much leaner; it resembles a water rail but has a short blunt beak. The plumage is greyish-yellow-brown, with a blue-grey eye stripe and grey side breast and mottled top side. In flight, it looks fluttery and unsteady, with a red-brown wing patch and legs dangling over the tip of the tail.
Size
Body length 22–25 cm, wingspan 42–53 cm, body mass 145–165 g.
Similar species
Water rail, grey partridge, common quail.
Distribution
During the breeding season, it is only common in Eurasia. The majority of corn crakes migrate to their wintering grounds through Egypt, with others passing through Western Africa. The main wintering grounds are located in the savannahs between Tanzania and the Republic of South Africa. Some wintering incidents have also been reported in West Africa. A common breeding bird in Estonia, it inhabits a variety of open environments.
Population
Estonia has 20,000–40,000 breeding pairs.
Occurrence in Estonia
It normally arrives in May and its autumn migration occurs from August to September.
Diet
It eats insects, worms, snails, spiders and seeds. It puts on a lot of weight before migration starts.
Habitat
It inhabits a variety of open landscapes. The species exclusively avoids areas where large forested areas predominate and there are no agricultural landscapes or wide flood-meadows by a river. It lives most of its life on the ground in dense vegetation such as crop and clover fields, wet meadows, bushy flood-meadows and clearings.
Nesting
The nest is a hole in the ground between grass and shrubs that has been lined with straw and moss. The diameter of the nest is 12–15 cm, height is 7 cm and the depth of the hole is 3–4 cm. After 15–17 days of incubation, 9–10 usually hatch. The chicks are nidifugous, meaning they are ready to wander around a few hours after hatching and quickly become independent. Apparently, the corn crake has two clutches per year, as nests containing eggs can be seen throughout the summer. The female incubates alone and only after the last egg has been laid.
Conservation status and protection
It belongs to the protected species of category III. The biggest threats across the distribution area are thought to be agricultural intensification, which causes high offspring mortality due to early cutting of grasslands and the death of moulting adult birds during mowing. Fertilisation and renewal of grasslands causes habitats to become overly dense, resulting in a decline in the number and quality of suitable habitat locations. Pesticides used in agriculture are also harmful. Natural enemies who threaten them are falcons and mustelids.
Distribution and population in Lääne County
The corn crake is a common breeding bird in Lääne County’s cultivated grasslands and meadows. It is difficult to observe a bird hiding in the high vegetation, but its voice can be heard frequently from May until mid-July. Corn crakes become especially loud at dusk.
In Matsalu, you can hear the concert of corn crakes from the viewing platform of Rannajõe or the Smoke River bridge. The national park’s territory is home to approximately 300 nesting pairs.