Corn crake: Difference between revisions

Corn Crake
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Gruiformes
Family:	Rallidae
Genus:	Crex
Species:	C. crex
Binomial name
	Crex crex; (Linnaeus, 1758)
	Breeding summer visitor; Winter visitor(ranges are approximate)
Synonyms
	Crex pratensis

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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 winter. It is a medium-sized crake with buff- or grey-streaked brownish-black upperparts, chestnut on the wings, and blue-grey underparts with rust-coloured and white bars on the flanks and undertail. The strong bill is flesh-toned, the iris is pale brown, and the legs and feet are pale grey. The juvenile is similar in plumage to the adult, and the downy chicks are black, as with all rails. There are no subspecies, although birds become slightly paler and greyer towards the east of the breeding range. The male's call is a loud krek krek, from which this species derives its scientific name. The Corn Crake is larger than its closest relative, the African Crake, which shares its wintering range; that species is also darker-plumaged, and has a plainer face.

The Corn Crake's breeding habitat is grassland, particularly hayfields, and it uses similar environments on the wintering grounds. This secretive species builds a nest of grass leaves in a hollow in the ground and lays 6–14 rufous-blotched cream-coloured eggs. These hatch in 19–20 days, and the black precocial chicksfledge after about five weeks. This crake is in steep decline across much of its former breeding range because modern farming practices mean that nests and birds are destroyed by mowing or harvesting before breeding is finished. The Corn Crake is omnivorous, but mainly feeds oninvertebrates, along with small frogs and mammals, and plant material including grass seed and cereal grain. Natural threats include introduced and feral mammals, large birds, and various parasites and diseases.

Although numbers have declined steeply in western Europe, this bird is classed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List because of its huge range and large, apparently stable, populations in Russia and Kazakhstan. Numbers in western China are more significant than previously thought, and conservation measures have facilitated an increase in population in some of the countries which had suffered the greatest losses. Despite its skulking nature, the loud call has ensured that the Corn Crake has been noted in literature, and garnered a range of local and dialect names.

Taxonomy

The rails are a bird family comprising nearly 150 species. Although the origins of the group are lost in antiquity, the largest number of species and the most primitive forms are found in the Old World, suggesting that this family originated there. The Corn Crake was first described by Linnaeus in his Systema Naturae in 1758 as Rallus crex,^[3] but was subsequently moved to the genus Crex, created by German naturalist and ornithologist Johann Matthäus Bechstein in 1803 and named Crex pratensis.^[4] The Principle of Priority makes Bechstein's specific name invalid and leads to the current tautonymous name of Crex crex.^[5] The taxonomy of the small crakes is complicated, but the closest relative of the Corn Crake is the African Crake, C. egregia, which has sometimes been given its own genus, Crecopsis, but is now more usually placed in Crex.^[6]^[7] The Porzana crakes, particularly the Ash-throated Crake, Porzana albicollis, are near-relatives of the Crex genus.^[8] The binomial name, Crex crex, from the Greek "κρεξ" is onomatopoeic, referring to the crake's repetitive grating call.^[9]^[10] The English names refer to this species nesting in dry hay or cereal fields, rather than the marshes used by most rails. The common name was formerly spelt as a single word, "Corncrake", but the official version is now "Corn Crake".^[11]

Description

The Corn Crake is a medium-sized rail, 27–30 cm (10.6–11.8 in) long with a wingspan of 42–53 cm (16.5–20.9 in). Males weigh 165 g (5.8 oz) on average and females with an average weight of 145 g (5.1 oz) are generally smaller and lighter. The adult male has the crown of its head and all of its upperparts brown-black in colour, streaked with buff or grey. The wing coverts are a distinctive chestnut colour with some white bars. The face, neck and breast are blue-grey, apart from a pale brown streak from the base of the bill to behind the eye, the belly is white, and the flanks, and undertail are barred with chestnut and white. The strong bill is flesh-coloured, the iris is pale brown, and the legs and feet are pale grey. Compared to the male, the female has warmer-toned upperparts and a narrower duller eye streak. Outside the breeding season, the upperparts of both sexes become darker and the underparts less grey. The juvenile is like the adult in appearance, but has a yellow tone to its upperparts, and the grey of the underparts is replaced with buff-brown. The chicks have black down, as with all rails. There are no subspecies; although birds become paler and greyer towards the east of the range, the change is clinal, and there is great individual variation in colour within all populations. Adults undergo a complete moult after breeding, which is normally finished by late August or early September, prior to migration. There is a pre-breeding partial moult prior to the return from Africa, mainly involving the plumage of the head, body and tail. Young birds have a head and body moult about five weeks after hatching.^[12]

The Corn Crake is sympatric with the African Crake on the wintering grounds, but can be distinguished by its larger size, paler upperparts, tawny upperwing and different underparts pattern. In flight, it has longer, less rounded wings, and shallower wingbeats than its African relative, and shows a white leading edge to the inner wing. In both the breeding and wintering ranges it is unlikely to be confused with any other rails, since sympatric species are smaller, with white markings on the upperparts, different underparts patterns and shorter bills. A flying Corn Crake can resemble a gamebird, but its chestnut wing pattern and dangling legs are diagnostic.^[12]

Voice

Corn Crake

Advertising call

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The male Corn Crake's advertising call is a loud, repetitive, grating krek krek normally delivered from a low perch with the bird's head and neck almost vertical and its bill wide open. This call can be heard from 1.5 km (1 mi) away, and serves to establish the breeding territory, challenge intruding males and attract females. Early in the season, the call is given almost continuously at night, and often during the day too.^[12] It may be repeated more than 20,000 times a night, with a peak between 12 midnight and 3 am.^[13] As might be expected with this skulking species, the call has evolved to enable accurate localisation of the singing male.^[14] The frequency of calling reduces after a few weeks, but may intensify again near the end of the laying period before falling away towards the end of the breeding season. Slight differences in vocalisations mean that individual males can be distinguished by their calls.^[12] Males can be attracted by mechanical imitations of their call. These can be produced by rubbing a piece of wood down a notched stick, or by flicking a credit card against a comb or zip-fastener.^[13] The male also has a growling call, given with the bill shut and used during aggressive interactions.^[12] The female Corn Crake may give a call similar to that of the male, but additionally has a distinctive barking sound, with a similar rhythm to the main call, but lacking the grating quality.^[15] The female also has a high-pitched cheep call, and a oo-oo-oo sound to call the chick. The chicks make a quiet peeick-peeick contact call, and a chirp used to beg for food.^[12] The Corn Crake is silent in Africa.^[16] Because of the difficulty in seeing this species, it is usually censused by counting males calling between 2300 and 0300 hours;^[17] the birds do not move much at night, whereas they may wander up to 600 m (650 yd) during the day which could lead to double-counting if monitored then.^[18] Identifying individual males suggests that just counting calling birds underestimates the true count by nearly 30%, and the discrepancy is likely to be greater, since only 80% of males may call at all on a given night.^[19]

Distribution and habitat

The Corn Crake breeds from Britain and Ireland east through Europe and central Russia to central Siberia, with a former natural range mainly between 41°N and 62°N;^[20] There is also a sizable population in western China.^[21] It nests only rarely in northern Spain and in Turkey; old claims of breeding in South Africa are incorrect, and result from misidentification of the eggs of the African Rail. The Corn Crake is a long-distance migrant, wintering mainly in Africa from Zaire and central Tanzania south to eastern South Africa. North of this area, it is mainly seen on migration, but occasionally winters in North Africa and to the west and north of its core area in southeast Africa. Its status in Africa is not well known, but most of the South Africa population of about 2,000 birds occur in KwaZulu-Natal and the former Transvaal Province. The Corn Crake migrates along two main routes; a western route through Morocco and Algeria, and a more important flyway through Egypt. On passage, it has been recorded in most countries between its breeding and wintering ranges, including much of west Africa,^[12] and those parts of southern Asia that lie between the east of the breeding range and Africa. Further afield, it has been recorded as a vagrant to Sri Lanka, Vietnam and Australia,^[21] the Seychelles,^[22] Bermuda,^[23] Canada, the US, Greenland,^[12] Iceland, the Faroes, The Azores, Madeira, and the Canary Islands.^[24] There are several nineteenth century records, when populations were much higher than now, of birds being seen in western Europe, mainly Britain and Ireland, between December and February.^[24]

The Corn Crake is a bird of open habitats, which would originally have included river meadows with tall grass and meadow plants including sedges and irises. It is now mainly found in cool moist grassland used for the production of hay, particularly moist traditional farmland with limited cutting or fertiliser use. It also utilises other treeless grasslands in mountains or taiga, on coasts, or where created by fire. Moister areas like wetland edges may be used, but very wet habitats are avoided, as are open areas and those with vegetation more than 50 cm (20 in) tall, or too dense to walk through. The odd bush or hedge may be used as a calling post. Grassland which is not mown or grazed becomes too matted to be suitable for nesting, but locally crops such as cereals, peas, rape, clover or potatoes may be used. After breeding, adults move to taller vegetation such as common reed, iris, or nettles to moult, returning to the to hay and silage meadows for the second brood.^[12] In China, flax is also used as for nest sites.^[21] Although males often sing in intensively managed grass or cereal crops, successful breeding is uncommon, and nests in the field margins or nearby fallow ground are more likely to succeed.^[20] This is mainly a lowland species, but breeds up to 1,400 m (4,600 ft) altitude in the Alps, 2,700 m(8,600 ft) in China and 3,000 m (9,800 ft) in Russia.^[21]^[24]

When wintering in Africa, the Corn Crake occupies dry grassland and savanna habitats, occurring in vegetation 30–200 cm (1–6 ft) tall, including seasonally burnt areas and occasionally sedges or reed beds. It is also found on fallow and abandoned fields, uncut grass on airfields, and the edges of crops. It occurs at up to at least 1,750 m (5,700 ft) altitude in South Africa.^[12] Although it sometimes occurs with the African Crake, that species normally prefers moister and shorter grassland habitats than does the Corn Crake.^[25] On migration, in addition to the expected habitats, the Corn Crake may occur in wheatfields and at golf courses.^[12]

Behaviour

The Corn Crake is a difficult bird to see in its breeding sites, usually being hidden by vegetation, but will sometimes emerge into the open. Occasionally, individuals may become very confiding; for five consecutive summers, an individual crake on Tiree entered a kitchen to feed on scraps, and a wintering Barra bird in 1999 would come for chicken feed once the intended recipients had finished.^[13] In Africa, it is more secretive than African Crake, and, unlike its relative, it is rarely seen in the open, although it occasionally feeds on tracks or road sides. This rail is most active early and late in the day, after heavy rain and during light rain. If flushed by a dog, it will fly less than 50 m (150 ft), frequently landing behind a bush or thicket, and then crouch on landing. Its typical flight is weak and fluttering, although less so than that of African Crake. For longer flights, such as migration, it has a steadier, stronger action with legs drawn up. If disturbed in the open, this crake will often run in a crouch for a short distance, with its neck stretched forward, then stand upright to watch the intruder. It walks with a high-stepping action, and can run swiftly through grass with its body held horizontal and laterally flattened. It will swim if essential. When captured it may feign death, recovering at once if it sees a way out.^[12]

The Corn Crake is solitary on the wintering grounds, with each bird occupying 4.2–4.9 ha (10.4–11.6 acres) at one time, although the total area used may be double that, since an individual may move locally due to flooding, plant growth, or grass cutting, Flocks of up to 40 birds may form on migration, sometimes associating with Common Quails. Migration takes place at night, and flocks resting during the day may aggregate to hundreds of birds at favoured sites.^[12] The ability to migrate is innate, not learned from adults. Chicks raised from birds kept in captivity for ten generations were able to migrate to Africa and return with similar success to wild-bred young.^[26]

Breeding

Until 1995, it was assumed that the Corn Crake is monogamous, but it transpires that a male may have a shifting home range, and mate with two or more females, moving on when laying is almost complete. The male's territory can vary from 3–51 ha (7.5–126 acres), but averages 15.7 ha. (39 acres). The female has a much smaller range, averaging only 5.5 ha (13.5 acres). A male will challenge an intruder by calling with his wings drooped and his head pointing forward. Usually the stranger moves off; if it stays, the two birds square up with heads and necks raised and the wings touching the ground. They then run around giving the growling call and lunging at each other. A real fight may ensue, with the birds leaping at each other and pecking, and sometimes kicking. Females play no part in defending the territory. The male has a brief courtship display; the neck is extended and the head held down, the tail is fanned, and the wings are spread with the tips touching the ground. He will attempt to approach the female from behind, and then leap on her back to copulate. The female may be offered food by the male during courtship. The nest is typically in grassland, sometimes in safer sites along a hedge, or near an isolated tree or bush, or in overgrown vegetation. Where grass is not tall enough at the start of the season, the first nest may be constructed in herby or marsh vegetation, with the second brood in hay.^[12] The second nest may also be at a higher altitude that the first, to take advantage of the later-developing grasses further up a hill.^[1] The nest, built in a scrape or hollow in the ground, is made of woven coarse dry grass and other plants, and lined with finer grasses.^[27]

The nest is 12–15 cm (5–6 in) in diameter and 3–4 cm (1–1.5 in) deep. The clutch is 6–14, usually 8–12 eggs; These are oval, slightly glossy, creamy or tinted with green, blue or grey, and blotched red-brown. They average 37 × 26 mm, (1.5 × 1.0 in) and weigh about 13–16 g, (0.46–0.56 oz),^[12] of which 7% is shell.^[28] The eggs are laid at daily intervals, but second clutches may sometimes have two eggs added per day. Incubation is by the female only; her tendency to sit tight when disturbed, or wait until the last moment to flee, leads to many deaths during hay-cutting and harvesting. The eggs hatch together after 19–20 days, and the precocial chicks leave the nest within a day or two. They are fed by the female for three or four days, but can find their own food thereafter. The juveniles fledge after 34–38 days. The second brood is started about 42 days after the first, and the incubation period is slightly shorter at 16–18 days. The grown young may stay with the female until departure for Africa. Nest success in undisturbed sites is high, at 80-90%, but much lower in fertilised meadows and on arable land. The method and timing of mowing is crucial; mechanized mowing can kill 38-95% of chicks in a given site, and losses average 50% of first brood chicks and somewhat less than 40% of second brood chicks.^[12] The annual adult survival rate is under 30%,^[28]^[29] although a typical lifespan for an adult may be 5–7 years.^[30] The influence of weather on chick survival is limited; although chick growth is faster in dry or warm weather, the effects are relatively small. Unlike many precocial species, chicks are fed by their mother to a greater or lesser extent until they become independent, and this may cushion them from adverse conditions. The number of live chicks hatched is more important than the weather, with lower survival in large broods.^[31]

Feeding

The Corn Crake is omnivorous, but mainly feeds on invertebrates, including earthworms, slugs and snails, spiders, beetles, dragonflies, grasshoppers and other insects. It is a predator of Sitona weevils, which infest legume crops.^[12] and in the past consumed large amounts of the former grassland pests, leatherjackets and wireworms.^[32] This crake will also eat small frogs and mammals, and plant material including grass seed and cereal grain. Its diet on the wintering grounds is generally similar, but includes locally available items such as termites, cockroaches and dung beetles. Food is taken from the ground, low-growing plants and from inside grass tussocks; the crake may search leaf litter with its bill, and run in pursuit of active prey. Hunting is normally in cover, but, particularly in the wintering areas, it will occasionally feed on grassy tracks or dirt roads.^[12] Indigestible material is regurgitated as 1 cm (0.5 in) pellets.^[24] Chicks are fed mainly on animal food, and when fully grown they may fly with the parents up to 6.4 km (4 mi) to visit supplementary feeding areas. As with other rails, grit is swallowed to help break up food in the stomach.^[12]^[33]

Predators and parasites

Predators on the breeding grounds include feral and domestic cats, introduced American mink, feral ferrets, otters and red foxes, and birds including the Common Buzzard and Hooded Crow.^[12] In Lithuania, the introduced Raccoon Dog has also been recorded as taking Corn Crakes. When chicks are exposed by rapid mowing, they may be taken by large birds including the White Stork, harriers and other birds of prey, gulls and corvids.^[34] At undisturbed sites nests and broods are rarely attacked, as reflected in a high breeding success. There is a record of a Corn Cake on migration through Gabon being killed by a Black Sparrowhawk.^[12]

The widespread fluke Prosthogonimus ovatus, which lives in the oviducts of birds has been recorded in the Corn Crake,^[35] as have the parasitic worm Plagiorchis elegans,^[36] the larvae of parasitic flies,^[37] and hard ticks of the genera Haemaphysalis and Ixodes.^[38]

During the reintroduction of Corn Crakes to England in the 2003 breeding season, enteritis and ill heath in pre-release birds was due to bacteria of a pathogenic Campylobacter species. Subsequently, microbiology tests were done to detect infected individuals and to find the source of the bacteria in their environment.^[39]

Status

Until 2010, despite its huge breeding range estimated at 12,400,000 km² (4,800,000 mi²), the Corn Crake was classified as Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List due to serious declines in Europe, but improved monitoring in Russia indicates that anticipated losses there have not occurred and numbers have remained stable or possibly increased. It is therefore now classed as Least Concern, since the major populations in Russia and Kazakhstan are not expected to change much in the short term. There are an estimated 1.3–2.0 million breeding pairs in Europe, three-quarters of which are in European Russia, and a further 515,000–1,240,000 pairs in Asiatic Russia; the total Eurasian population has been estimated at between 5.45 and 9.72 million individuals. In much of the western half of its range, there have been long-term declines which are expected to continue, although conservation measures have enabled numbers to grow in several countries, including a five-fold increase in Finland, and a doubling in the UK.^[1] In the Netherlands, 33 territories in 1996 increased to at least 500 in 1998.^[40]

The breeding Corn Crake population had started to decline in the 19th century, but the process gained pace after World War II.^[41] The main cause of the steep declines in much of Europe is the loss of nests and chicks from early mowing. Haymaking dates have moved forward in the past century due to faster crop growth, made possible by land drainage and the use of fertilisers, and the move from manual grass-cutting using scythes, to mechanical mowers, at first horse-drawn, and later pulled by tractors. Mechanisation also means that large areas can be cut quickly, leaving the crake with no alternative sites to raise either a first brood, if suitable habitat has gone, or a replacement brood if the first nest is destroyed.^[34] The pattern of mowing, typically in a circular pattern from the outside of a field to its centre gives little chance of escape for the chicks, which are also exposed to potential animal predators. Adults can often escape the mowers, although some incubating females sit tight on the nest, with fatal results.^[12]

Loss of habitat is the other major threat to the Corn Crake. Apart from the reduced suitability of drained and fertilised silage fields compared to traditional hay meadows, in western Europe the conversion of grassland to arable has been aided by subsidies, and further east the collapse of collective farming has led to the abandonment and lack of management of much land in this important breeding area.^[34] More localised threats include floods in spring,^[42] and disturbance by roads or wind farms.^[34] This bird is good eating; when they were common in England, Mrs Beeton recommended roasting four on a skewer.^[43] More significant than direct hunting is the loss of many birds, up to 14,000 a year, in Egypt, where migrating birds are captured in nets set for the Quail with which they often migrate.^[13] Although this may account for 0.5–2.7% of the European population, the losses to this form of hunting are less than when the targeted species were more numerous and predictable.^[44]

Most European countries have taken steps to conserve the Corn Crake and produce national management policies; there is also an overall European action plan. The focus of conservation effort is to monitor populations and ecology and to improve survival, principally through changing the timing and method of hay harvesting.^[1] Later cutting gives time for breeding to be completed, and leaving uncut strips at the edges of fields and cutting from the centre outwards reduce the casualties from mowing.^[12] Implementing these changes is predicted to stop the population decline if the measures are applied on a sufficiently large scale.^[45] Reduction of illegal hunting, and protection in countries where this is still a quarry species are also conservation aims.^[1] Reintroduction of the Corn Crake is being attempted in England, and breeding sites are scheduled for protection in many other countries.^[46] Where breeding sites impinge on urban areas, there are cost implications, estimated in one German study at several million euros per Corn Crake.^[47] The Corn Crake does not appear to be seriously threatened on its wintering grounds, and may benefit from deforestration which creates more open habitats.^[25]

In culture

Most rails are secretive wetland birds that have made little cultural impact, but as a formerly common farmland bird with a loud nocturnal call that sometimes led to disturbed sleep for rural dwellers, the Corn Crake has acquire a variety of folk names and some commemoration in literature.^[13]

Names

The favoured name for this species among naturalists has changed over the years, with "Landrail" and variants of "Corncrake" being preferred at various times. "Crake Gallinule" also had a period of popularity between 1768 and 1813.^[48] The originally Scottish "Corne Crake" was popularised by Thomas Bewick, who used this term in his 1797 A History of British Birds.^[49] Other Scottish names include "Corn Scrack" and "Quailzie"; the latter term, like King of the Quail,^[49] Grass quail,^[50] and the French roi de caille refer to the association with the small gamebird.^[13] Another name, "Daker", has been variously interpreted as onomatopoeic,^[51] or derived from the Old Norse Ager-hoene, meaning "Cock of the field";^[49] variants include Drake, Drake Hen and Gorse Drake.^[52]

In literature

Corn Crakes are the subject of three stanzas of the seventeenth century poet Andrew Marvell's Upon Appleton House, written in 1651 about the North Yorkshire country estate of Thomas Fairfax. The narrator depicts the scene of a mower cutting the grass, before his "whistling Sithe" unknowingly "carves the Rail". The farmhand draws out the scythe "all bloody from its breast" and "does the stroke detest". It continues with a stanza that demonstrates the problematic nature of the Corn Crake's nesting habits:^[53]

Unhappy Birds! What does it boot
To build below the Grass' Root;
When Lowness is unsafe as Hight,
And Chance o'ertakes, what scapeth spight?

John Clare, the nineteenth-century English poet based in Northamptonshire, wrote The Landrail, a semi-comic piece which is primarily about the difficulty of seeing Corn Crakes - as opposed to hearing them. In the fourth verse he exclaims: Tis like a fancy everywhere/A sort of living doubt. Clare wrote about Corn Crakes in his prose works too, and his writings help to clarify the distribution of this rail when it was far more widespread than now.^[54]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "BirdLife International Species factsheet: Crex crex ". BirdLife International. Retrieved 7 June 2011.
^ Stone, Witmer (1894). "A Review of the Old World Rallinae". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 46: 130–149.
^ Linnaeus, Carolus (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata (in Latin). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 153.
^ Bechstein, Johann Matthäus (1803). Ornithologisches Taschenbuch von und für Deutschland oder kurze Beschreibung aller Vogel Deutschlands, vol 2 (in German). Leipzig: Richter. p. 336. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Sclater, Philip Lutley (1896). "Remarks on the divergencies between the "Rules for naming Animals" of the German Zoological Society and the Stricklandian Code of Nomenclature". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 54 (2): 306–319.
^ Taylor & van Perlo (2000) p. 30
^ Livezey (1998) p. 2098
^ Livezey (1998) p. 2134
^ Wood, John George (1855). The Illustrated Natural History. London: G Routledge. p. 302.
^ Smith, John Maynard (2003). Animal Signals. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 11. ISBN 0198526857. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ "Bustards to Limpkin". IOC World Bird List. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 June 2011
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Taylor & van Perlo (2000) pp. 320–327
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Cocker, Mark (2005). Birds Britannica. London: Chatto & Windus. pp. 178–180. ISBN 0701169079. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Osiejuk, Tomasz S (2004). "Amplitude spectra of Corncrake calls: what do they signalise?". Animal Biology. 54 (2): 207–220. doi:10.1163/1570756041445218. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Ottvall, Richard (1999). "Female Corncrake(Crex crex) singing in the wild" (PDF). Journal of Ornithology. 140 (4): 453–456. doi:10.1007/BF01650989.
^ Newman, Kenneth (2002). Newman's Birds of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik. pp. 120–122. ISBN 1868727351.
^ Bibby, Colin J (2000). Bird Census Techniques. Kidlington, Oxfordshire: Academic Press. p. 180. ISBN 9780120958313. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Hudson, Anne V (1990). "Status and distribution of Corncrakes in Britain in 1988". British Birds. 83 (5): 173–187. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Peake, T M (2001). "Corncrake Crex crex census estimates: a conservation application of vocal individuality" (PDF). Animal Biodiversity and Conservation. 24 (1): 81–90. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b Green, Rhys E. "Populations, ecology and threats to the Corncrake Crex crex in Europe" (PDF). Vogelwelt. 118: 117–134. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Bräunlich, Axel; Rank, Michael (2001) Notes on the occurrence of the Corncrake (Crex crex) in Asia and in the Pacific region pp. 10–13 in Schäffer, N; Mammen, U (eds.) (2001) Proceedings International Corncrake Workshop 1998, Hilpoltstein/Germany.
^ Skerrett, Adrian (2006). "Third report of the Seychelles Bird Records Committee" (PDF). Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 13 (1): 65–72. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Bourne, W P R (1957). "The breeding birds of Bermuda". Ibis. 99 (1): 94–105. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1957.tb01935.x. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Snow, David (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition: vol 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 496–499. ISBN 0-19-854099-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ ^a ^b Taylor & van Perlo (2000) pp. 316–320
^ Pain, Debbie (2011). "On the edge; can the Spoon-billed Sandpiper be saved?". British Birds. 104 (7): 350–363. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Seebohm, Henry (1896). Coloured Figures of the Eggs of British Birds. Sheffield: Pawlson & Brailsford. p. 83.
^ ^a ^b "Corncrake Crex crex (Linnaeus, 1758)". BTOWeb BirdFacts. British Trust for Ornithology. Retrieved 12 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)
^ Green, Rhys E (2004). "A new method for estimating the adult survival rate of the Corncrake Crex crex and comparison with estimates from ring-recovery and ring-recapture data" (PDF). Ibis. 146 (3): 501–508. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2004.00291.x.
^ Hume, Rob (2009). RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 264. ISBN 1405345896. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Tyler, G A (2004). "Effects of weather on the survival and growth of Corncrake Crex crex chicks" (PDF). Ibis. 146: 69–76. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Stone, Witmer (1932). "Collinge on the Corn-crake" (PDF). The Auk. 49 (1): 126–127. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
^ Taylor & van Perlo (2000) pp. 39–41
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d Koffijberg & Schaffer (2006) p. 21
^ Rothschild, Miriam; Clay, Theresa (1953). Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos. A study of bird parasites (PDF). London: Collins. pp. 204–205.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
^ Yildirimhan, Hikmet S (2011). "Helminth parasites of the Balkan green lizard, Lacerta trilineata Bedriaga 1886, from Bursa, Turkey" (PDF). Turkish Journal of Zoology. 35 (3): 1–17. doi:10.3906/zoo-0910-1. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Matyukhin, V (2008). "Contribution to the knowledge of Diptera (Insecta) parasitizing on birds". Entomological Review. 88 (2): 258–259. doi:10.1134/S0013873808020115. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Hoogstraal, Harry (1964). "Ticks (Ixodidae) on migrating birds in Egypt, spring and fall 1962". Bulletin of the World Health Organisation. 30 (3): 355–67. PMC 2554818. PMID 14163959. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Mudenda, N (2008). "Prevalence of Campylobacter species in corncrakes (Crex crex) in a reintroduction programme in the UK". Veterinary Record. 163 (9): 274–275. doi:10.1136/vr.163.9.274. PMID 18757906. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ van den Berg, Arnoud B (1999). "European news 45". British Birds. 92 (6): 278–300.
^ Koffijberg & Schaffer (2006) p. 6
^ Donaghy, A (2007). "Corncrakes: a lot done, more to do". Wings. 46: 26–27.
^ Beeton, Isabella (1861). The Book of Household Management. London: S O Beeton. p. 210. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Newton, Ian (2010). Bird Migration (Collins New Naturalist Library 113). London: Collins. p. 532. ISBN 0007307322.
^ Green, Rhys E (1997). "A simulation model of the effect of mowing of agricultural grassland on the breeding success of the corncrake (Crex crex)". Journal of Zoology. 243 (1): 81–115. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1997.tb05758.x. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Holden, Peter (2010). RSPB Handbook of British Birds. Christopher Helm. p. 110. ISBN 1408127350. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
^ Matauschek, Jan Marcus (2005). "The impact of endangered species law on the real estate development process explored with cost-benefit analysis: The case of the corncrake in Hamburg/Germany" (PDF). German Working Papers in Law and Economics. 2005 (Paper 7): 1–30. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)
^ Lockwood (1984) p. 93
^ ^a ^b ^c Hull, Robin (2001). Scottish Birds: Culture and Tradition. Edinburgh: Mercat Press. p. 156. ISBN 184183 0259.
^ Coward, Thomas Alfred (1930). The Birds of the British Isles and their eggs. London: Frederick Warne. p. 326. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
^ Lockwood (1984) p. 52
^ Lockwood (1984) p. 55
^ Smith, Nigel (2006). Marvell: The Poems of Andrew Marvell (Longman Annotated English Poets). London: Longman. p. 210. ISBN 9781405832830.
^ Mynott, Jeremy (2009). Birdscapes: Birds in Our Imagination and Experience. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-691-13539-7.

Cited texts

Koffijberg, Kees (2006). International single species action plan for the conservation of the Corncrake Crex crex (PDF). Bonn, Germany: Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) (CMS Technical Series & AEWA Technical Series 14 & 9). {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
Livezey, Bradley C (1998). "A phylogenetic analysis of the Gruiformes (Aves) based on morphological characters, with an emphasis on the rails (Rallidae)". Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. 353 (1378): 2077–2151. doi:10.1098/rstb.1998.0353. PMC 1692427.
Lockwood, W B (1984). Oxford Book of British Bird Names. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0192141554. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
Taylor, Barry (2000). Rails. Robertsbridge, Sussex: Pica. ISBN 1873403593. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

External links

Corn Crake videos, photos & sounds on the Internet Bird Collection
ARKive Still images and videos.
Flicker Field Guide Birds of the World Photographs.
Upon Appleton House, to my Lord Fairfax by Andrew Marvell
The Landrail by John Clare

[BirdLife-1] "BirdLife International Species factsheet: Crex crex ". BirdLife International. Retrieved 7 June 2011.

[2] Stone, Witmer (1894). "A Review of the Old World Rallinae". Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia. 46: 130–149.

[3] Linnaeus, Carolus (1758). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata (in Latin). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. p. 153.

[bechstein-4] Bechstein, Johann Matthäus (1803). Ornithologisches Taschenbuch von und für Deutschland oder kurze Beschreibung aller Vogel Deutschlands, vol 2 (in German). Leipzig: Richter. p. 336. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[5] Sclater, Philip Lutley (1896). "Remarks on the divergencies between the "Rules for naming Animals" of the German Zoological Society and the Stricklandian Code of Nomenclature". Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London. 54 (2): 306–319.

[taylor29-6] Taylor & van Perlo (2000) p. 30

[Livezey1-7] Livezey (1998) p. 2098

[Livezey2-8] Livezey (1998) p. 2134

[wood-9] Wood, John George (1855). The Illustrated Natural History. London: G Routledge. p. 302.

[Smith-10] Smith, John Maynard (2003). Animal Signals. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 11. ISBN 0198526857. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[ioc-11] "Bustards to Limpkin". IOC World Bird List. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 5 June 2011

[taylor320-12] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f ^g ^h ⁱ ^j ^k ^l ^m ⁿ ^o ^p ^q ^r ^s ^t ^u ^v ^w Taylor & van Perlo (2000) pp. 320–327

[cocker-13] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Cocker, Mark (2005). Birds Britannica. London: Chatto & Windus. pp. 178–180. ISBN 0701169079. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Osiejuk-14] Osiejuk, Tomasz S (2004). "Amplitude spectra of Corncrake calls: what do they signalise?". Animal Biology. 54 (2): 207–220. doi:10.1163/1570756041445218. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Ottvall-15] Ottvall, Richard (1999). "Female Corncrake(Crex crex) singing in the wild" (PDF). Journal of Ornithology. 140 (4): 453–456. doi:10.1007/BF01650989.

[newman-16] Newman, Kenneth (2002). Newman's Birds of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik. pp. 120–122. ISBN 1868727351.

[bibby-17] Bibby, Colin J (2000). Bird Census Techniques. Kidlington, Oxfordshire: Academic Press. p. 180. ISBN 9780120958313. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Hudson-18] Hudson, Anne V (1990). "Status and distribution of Corncrakes in Britain in 1988". British Birds. 83 (5): 173–187. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Peake-19] Peake, T M (2001). "Corncrake Crex crex census estimates: a conservation application of vocal individuality" (PDF). Animal Biodiversity and Conservation. 24 (1): 81–90. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[rocamora-20] Green, Rhys E. "Populations, ecology and threats to the Corncrake Crex crex in Europe" (PDF). Vogelwelt. 118: 117–134. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[asia-21] Bräunlich, Axel; Rank, Michael (2001) Notes on the occurrence of the Corncrake (Crex crex) in Asia and in the Pacific region pp. 10–13 in Schäffer, N; Mammen, U (eds.) (2001) Proceedings International Corncrake Workshop 1998, Hilpoltstein/Germany.

[ABC-22] Skerrett, Adrian (2006). "Third report of the Seychelles Bird Records Committee" (PDF). Bulletin of the African Bird Club. 13 (1): 65–72. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[bourne-23] Bourne, W P R (1957). "The breeding birds of Bermuda". Ibis. 99 (1): 94–105. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919X.1957.tb01935.x. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)

[BWP-24] Snow, David (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition: vol 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. pp. 496–499. ISBN 0-19-854099-X. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[taylor316-25] Taylor & van Perlo (2000) pp. 316–320

[3-26] Pain, Debbie (2011). "On the edge; can the Spoon-billed Sandpiper be saved?". British Birds. 104 (7): 350–363. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Seebohm-27] Seebohm, Henry (1896). Coloured Figures of the Eggs of British Birds. Sheffield: Pawlson & Brailsford. p. 83.

[BTO-28] "Corncrake Crex crex (Linnaeus, 1758)". BTOWeb BirdFacts. British Trust for Ornithology. Retrieved 12 June 2011. {{cite web}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |work= (help)

[green-29] Green, Rhys E (2004). "A new method for estimating the adult survival rate of the Corncrake Crex crex and comparison with estimates from ring-recovery and ring-recapture data" (PDF). Ibis. 146 (3): 501–508. doi:10.1111/j.1474-919x.2004.00291.x.

[hume-30] Hume, Rob (2009). RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe. London: Dorling Kindersley. p. 264. ISBN 1405345896. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[tylergreen-31] Tyler, G A (2004). "Effects of weather on the survival and growth of Corncrake Crex crex chicks" (PDF). Ibis. 146: 69–76. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[auk49-32] Stone, Witmer (1932). "Collinge on the Corn-crake" (PDF). The Auk. 49 (1): 126–127. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)

[taylor39-33] Taylor & van Perlo (2000) pp. 39–41

[kees19-34] Koffijberg & Schaffer (2006) p. 21

[Rothschild-35] Rothschild, Miriam; Clay, Theresa (1953). Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos. A study of bird parasites (PDF). London: Collins. pp. 204–205.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

[Yildirimhan-36] Yildirimhan, Hikmet S (2011). "Helminth parasites of the Balkan green lizard, Lacerta trilineata Bedriaga 1886, from Bursa, Turkey" (PDF). Turkish Journal of Zoology. 35 (3): 1–17. doi:10.3906/zoo-0910-1. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Matyukhin-37] Matyukhin, V (2008). "Contribution to the knowledge of Diptera (Insecta) parasitizing on birds". Entomological Review. 88 (2): 258–259. doi:10.1134/S0013873808020115. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Hoogstraa-38] Hoogstraal, Harry (1964). "Ticks (Ixodidae) on migrating birds in Egypt, spring and fall 1962". Bulletin of the World Health Organisation. 30 (3): 355–67. PMC 2554818. PMID 14163959. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Mudenda-39] Mudenda, N (2008). "Prevalence of Campylobacter species in corncrakes (Crex crex) in a reintroduction programme in the UK". Veterinary Record. 163 (9): 274–275. doi:10.1136/vr.163.9.274. PMID 18757906. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[40] van den Berg, Arnoud B (1999). "European news 45". British Birds. 92 (6): 278–300.

[kees6-41] Koffijberg & Schaffer (2006) p. 6

[Donaghy-42] Donaghy, A (2007). "Corncrakes: a lot done, more to do". Wings. 46: 26–27.

[beeton-43] Beeton, Isabella (1861). The Book of Household Management. London: S O Beeton. p. 210. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[Newton-44] Newton, Ian (2010). Bird Migration (Collins New Naturalist Library 113). London: Collins. p. 532. ISBN 0007307322.

[tyler-45] Green, Rhys E (1997). "A simulation model of the effect of mowing of agricultural grassland on the breeding success of the corncrake (Crex crex)". Journal of Zoology. 243 (1): 81–115. doi:10.1111/j.1469-7998.1997.tb05758.x. {{cite journal}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Holden-46] Holden, Peter (2010). RSPB Handbook of British Birds. Christopher Helm. p. 110. ISBN 1408127350. {{cite book}}: Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)

[Matauschek-47] Matauschek, Jan Marcus (2005). "The impact of endangered species law on the real estate development process explored with cost-benefit analysis: The case of the corncrake in Hamburg/Germany" (PDF). German Working Papers in Law and Economics. 2005 (Paper 7): 1–30. {{cite journal}}: Cite has empty unknown parameters: |month= and |coauthors= (help)

[lockwood93-48] Lockwood (1984) p. 93

[rh-49] Hull, Robin (2001). Scottish Birds: Culture and Tradition. Edinburgh: Mercat Press. p. 156. ISBN 184183 0259.

[coward-50] Coward, Thomas Alfred (1930). The Birds of the British Isles and their eggs. London: Frederick Warne. p. 326. {{cite book}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)

[lockwood52-51] Lockwood (1984) p. 52

[lockwood55-52] Lockwood (1984) p. 55

[smith-53] Smith, Nigel (2006). Marvell: The Poems of Andrew Marvell (Longman Annotated English Poets). London: Longman. p. 210. ISBN 9781405832830.

[Mynott-54] Mynott, Jeremy (2009). Birdscapes: Birds in Our Imagination and Experience. Princeton: Princeton University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-691-13539-7.

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@@ Line 17: / Line 17: @@
 | binomial = ''Crex crex''
 | binomial_authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
-| synonyms = ''Crex pratensis''<ref>{{cite journal| title =A Review of the Old World Rallinae|first=Witmer|last=Stone|journal= Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia| volume =46|year= 1894| pages=130-149| url= http://www.archive.org/stream/proceedingsofaca46acaduoft#page/130/mode/1up}}</ref>
+| synonyms = ''Crex pratensis''<ref>{{cite journal| title =A Review of the Old World Rallinae|first=Witmer|last=Stone|journal= Proceedings of the Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia| volume =46|year= 1894| pages=130–149| url= http://www.archive.org/stream/proceedingsofaca46acaduoft#page/130/mode/1up}}</ref>
 | range_map =Crexcrex.png
 | range_map_width =
@@ Line 31: / Line 31: @@
 == Taxonomy ==
-The [[Rallidae|rails]] are a bird [[family (biology)|family]] comprising nearly 150 species. Although the origins of the group are lost in antiquity, the largest number of species and the most primitive forms are found in the [[Old World]], suggesting that this family originated there. The Corn Crake was first described by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] in his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' in 1758 as ''Rallus crex'',<ref>{{cite book | last = Linnaeus | first = Carolus | authorlink = Carl Linnaeus | title = Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. | publisher = Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii | year=1758 | language = Latin | page = 153}}</ref> but was subsequently moved to the genus ''Crex'', created by German naturalist and ornithologist [[Johann Matthäus Bechstein]] in 1803 and named ''Crex pratensis''.<ref name= bechstein>{{cite book | last = Bechstein | first = Johann Matthäus | coauthors= | title = Ornithologisches Taschenbuch von und für Deutschland oder kurze Beschreibung aller Vogel Deutschlands, vol 2 | year = 1803 | location = Leipzig | publisher = Richter | language = German | page = 336 }}</ref> The [[Principle of Priority]] makes Bechstein's specific name invalid and leads to the current [[tautology (rhetoric)|tautonymous]] name of ''Crex crex''.<ref>{{cite journal | url= http://www.archive.org/stream/proceedingsofgen96scie#page/311/mode/1up | title= Remarks on the divergencies between the “Rules for naming Animals” of the German Zoological Society and the Stricklandian Code of Nomenclature | journal = Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London | volume=54 | issue=2| pages = 306–319| year= 1896 | author = Sclater, Philip Lutley | year=1896 }}</ref> The taxonomy of the small crakes is complicated, but the closest relative of the Corn Crake is the African Crake, ''C. egregia'', which has sometimes been given its own genus, ''Crecopsis'', but is now more usually placed in ''Crex''.<ref name= taylor29>Taylor & van Perlo (2000) p. 30</ref><ref name= Livezey1>Livezey (1998) p. 2098</ref> The ''[[Porzana]]'' crakes, particularly the [[Ash-throated Crake]], ''Porzana albicollis'', are near-relatives of the ''Crex'' genus.<ref name= Livezey2>Livezey (1998) p. 2134</ref> The binomial name, ''Crex crex'', from the Greek "κρεξ" is [[onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]], referring to the crake's repetitive grating call.<ref name= wood>{{cite book | last = Wood | first = John George | title = The Illustrated Natural History | year = 1855| location = London | publisher = G Routledge | isbn = |language = |page =302 }}</ref><ref name= Smith>{{cite book | last = Smith | first = John Maynard | coauthors= Harper, David | title = Animal Signals | year = 2003 | location = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 0198526857 |page = 11 }}</ref> The English names refer to this species nesting in dry hay or cereal fields, rather than the marshes used by most rails. The common name was formerly spelt as a single word, "Corncrake", but the official version is now "Corn Crake".<ref name = ioc>{{cite web| author = | title = Bustards to Limpkin | work = IOC World Bird List | url= http://www.worldbirdnames.org/n-bustards.html | publisher = International Ornithologists' Union}} Retrieved 5 June 2011</ref>
+The [[Rallidae|rails]] are a bird [[family (biology)|family]] comprising nearly 150 species. Although the origins of the group are lost in antiquity, the largest number of species and the most primitive forms are found in the [[Old World]], suggesting that this family originated there. The Corn Crake was first described by [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]] in his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' in 1758 as ''Rallus crex'',<ref>{{cite book | last = Linnaeus | first = Carolus | authorlink = Carl Linnaeus | title = Systema naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata. | publisher = Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii | year=1758 | language = Latin | page = 153}}</ref> but was subsequently moved to the genus ''Crex'', created by German naturalist and ornithologist [[Johann Matthäus Bechstein]] in 1803 and named ''Crex pratensis''.<ref name= bechstein>{{cite book | last = Bechstein | first = Johann Matthäus | coauthors= | title = Ornithologisches Taschenbuch von und für Deutschland oder kurze Beschreibung aller Vogel Deutschlands, vol 2 | year = 1803 | location = Leipzig | publisher = Richter | language = German | page = 336 }}</ref> The [[Principle of Priority]] makes Bechstein's specific name invalid and leads to the current [[tautology (rhetoric)|tautonymous]] name of ''Crex crex''.<ref>{{cite journal | url= http://www.archive.org/stream/proceedingsofgen96scie#page/311/mode/1up | title= Remarks on the divergencies between the “Rules for naming Animals” of the German Zoological Society and the Stricklandian Code of Nomenclature | journal = Proceedings of the Zoological Society of London | volume=54 | issue=2| pages = 306–319 | year=1896 | author = Sclater, Philip Lutley }}</ref> The taxonomy of the small crakes is complicated, but the closest relative of the Corn Crake is the African Crake, ''C. egregia'', which has sometimes been given its own genus, ''Crecopsis'', but is now more usually placed in ''Crex''.<ref name= taylor29>Taylor & van Perlo (2000) p. 30</ref><ref name= Livezey1>Livezey (1998) p. 2098</ref> The ''[[Porzana]]'' crakes, particularly the [[Ash-throated Crake]], ''Porzana albicollis'', are near-relatives of the ''Crex'' genus.<ref name= Livezey2>Livezey (1998) p. 2134</ref> The binomial name, ''Crex crex'', from the Greek "κρεξ" is [[onomatopoeia|onomatopoeic]], referring to the crake's repetitive grating call.<ref name= wood>{{cite book | last = Wood | first = John George | title = The Illustrated Natural History | year = 1855| location = London | publisher = G Routledge | isbn = |language = |page =302 }}</ref><ref name= Smith>{{cite book | last = Smith | first = John Maynard | coauthors= Harper, David | title = Animal Signals | year = 2003 | location = Oxford | publisher = Oxford University Press | isbn = 0198526857 |page = 11 }}</ref> The English names refer to this species nesting in dry hay or cereal fields, rather than the marshes used by most rails. The common name was formerly spelt as a single word, "Corncrake", but the official version is now "Corn Crake".<ref name = ioc>{{cite web| author = | title = Bustards to Limpkin | work = IOC World Bird List | url= http://www.worldbirdnames.org/n-bustards.html | publisher = International Ornithologists' Union}} Retrieved 5 June 2011</ref>
 == Description ==
@@ Line 41: / Line 41: @@
 === Voice ===
 {{listen|filename=Crex crex, July 2010.ogg|title=Corn Crake|pos=right|description= Advertising call}}
-The male Corn Crake's advertising call is a loud, repetitive, grating ''krek krek'' normally delivered from a low perch with the bird's head and neck almost vertical and its bill wide open. This call can be heard from 1.5&nbsp;km (1&nbsp;mi) away, and serves to establish the breeding territory, challenge intruding males and attract females. Early in the season, the call is given almost continuously at night, and often during the day too.<ref name=taylor320/> It may be repeated more than 20,000 times a night, with a peak between 12 midnight and 3&nbsp;am.<ref name="cocker"/> As might be expected with this skulking species, the call has evolved to enable accurate localisation of the singing male.<ref name= Osiejuk >{{cite journal | last= Osiejuk | first= Tomasz S | coauthors= Olech, Bogumia | month= | year= | title = Amplitude spectra of Corncrake calls: what do they signalise? | journal= Animal Biology | volume= 54 | issue = 2 |language = | pages= 207–220 | url = |format = | doi = }}</ref> The frequency of calling reduces after a few weeks, but may intensify again near the end of the laying period before falling away towards the end of the breeding season. Slight differences in vocalisations mean that individual males can be distinguished by their calls.<ref name= taylor320/> Males can be attracted by mechanical imitations of their call. These can be produced by rubbing a piece of wood down a notched stick, or by flicking a credit card against a comb or [[zipper|zip-fastener]].<ref name="cocker">{{cite book | last = Cocker | first = Mark | coauthors= Mabey, Richard |title = Birds Britannica | year = 2005 | location = London | publisher = Chatto & Windus | isbn = 0701169079 | pages = 178–180}}</ref> The male also has a growling call, given with the bill shut and used during aggressive interactions.<ref name= taylor320/> The female Corn Crake may give a call similar to that of the male, but additionally has a distinctive barking sound, with a similar rhythm to the main call, but lacking the grating quality.<ref name= Ottvall>{{cite journal | last= Ottvall | first= Richard | year= 1999 | title= Female Corncrake(''Crex crex'') singing in the wild | journal= Journal of Ornithology | volume = 140 | issue = 4 |pages= 453–456 | url = http://avifauna.se/ofstn/apps/reports/167.pdf |format = | doi =10.1007/BF01650989 }}</ref> The female also has a high-pitched cheep call, and a ''oo-oo-oo'' sound to call the chick. The chicks make a quiet ''peeick-peeick'' contact call, and a chirp used to beg for food.<ref name= taylor320/> The Corn Crake is silent in Africa.<ref name= newman>{{cite book | last = Newman | first =Kenneth |title = Newman's Birds of Southern Africa | year = 2002 | location = Cape Town | publisher = Struik | isbn = 1868727351 | pages = 120–122}}</ref> Because of the difficulty in seeing this species, it is usually [[census]]ed by counting males calling between 2300 and 0300 hours;<ref name= bibby>{{cite book | last = Bibby | first = Colin J | coauthors= Burgess, Neil D; Hill, David A; Mustoe, Simon; Lambton, Sandra | title = Bird Census Techniques | year = 2000 | location = Kidlington, Oxfordshire | publisher = Academic Press | isbn =9780120958313 | page = 180 }}</ref> the birds do not move much at night, whereas they may wander up to 600&nbsp;m (650&nbsp;yd) during the day which could lead to double-counting if monitored then.<ref name= Hudson>{{cite journal | last= Hudson | first= Anne V | coauthors= Stowe, Tim J; Aspinall, Simon J | month= | year= 1990| title = Status and distribution of Corncrakes in Britain in 1988 | journal = British Birds | volume= 83 | issue = 5 | pages= 173–187 | url = |format = | doi = }}</ref> Identifying individual males suggests that just counting calling birds underestimates the true count by nearly 30%, and the discrepancy is likely to be greater, since only 80% of males may call at all on a given night.<ref name= Peake>{{cite journal | last= Peake | first= T M | coauthors= McGregor, P K | year= 2001 | title= Corncrake ''Crex crex'' census estimates: a conservation application of vocal individuality | journal = Animal Biodiversity and Conservation | volume= 24 | issue = 1 |language = | pages= 81–90 | url = http://www.bcn.es/museuciencies_fitxers/imatges/FitxerContingut1401.pdf |format = | doi = }}</ref>
+The male Corn Crake's advertising call is a loud, repetitive, grating ''krek krek'' normally delivered from a low perch with the bird's head and neck almost vertical and its bill wide open. This call can be heard from 1.5&nbsp;km (1&nbsp;mi) away, and serves to establish the breeding territory, challenge intruding males and attract females. Early in the season, the call is given almost continuously at night, and often during the day too.<ref name=taylor320/> It may be repeated more than 20,000 times a night, with a peak between 12 midnight and 3&nbsp;am.<ref name="cocker"/> As might be expected with this skulking species, the call has evolved to enable accurate localisation of the singing male.<ref name= Osiejuk >{{cite journal | last= Osiejuk | first= Tomasz S | coauthors= Olech, Bogumia | month= | year= 2004| title = Amplitude spectra of Corncrake calls: what do they signalise? | journal= Animal Biology | volume= 54 | issue = 2 |language = | pages= 207–220 | url = |format = | doi =10.1163/1570756041445218 }}</ref> The frequency of calling reduces after a few weeks, but may intensify again near the end of the laying period before falling away towards the end of the breeding season. Slight differences in vocalisations mean that individual males can be distinguished by their calls.<ref name= taylor320/> Males can be attracted by mechanical imitations of their call. These can be produced by rubbing a piece of wood down a notched stick, or by flicking a credit card against a comb or [[zipper|zip-fastener]].<ref name="cocker">{{cite book | last = Cocker | first = Mark | coauthors= Mabey, Richard |title = Birds Britannica | year = 2005 | location = London | publisher = Chatto & Windus | isbn = 0701169079 | pages = 178–180}}</ref> The male also has a growling call, given with the bill shut and used during aggressive interactions.<ref name= taylor320/> The female Corn Crake may give a call similar to that of the male, but additionally has a distinctive barking sound, with a similar rhythm to the main call, but lacking the grating quality.<ref name= Ottvall>{{cite journal | last= Ottvall | first= Richard | year= 1999 | title= Female Corncrake(''Crex crex'') singing in the wild | journal= Journal of Ornithology | volume = 140 | issue = 4 |pages= 453–456 | url = http://avifauna.se/ofstn/apps/reports/167.pdf |format = | doi =10.1007/BF01650989 }}</ref> The female also has a high-pitched cheep call, and a ''oo-oo-oo'' sound to call the chick. The chicks make a quiet ''peeick-peeick'' contact call, and a chirp used to beg for food.<ref name= taylor320/> The Corn Crake is silent in Africa.<ref name= newman>{{cite book | last = Newman | first =Kenneth |title = Newman's Birds of Southern Africa | year = 2002 | location = Cape Town | publisher = Struik | isbn = 1868727351 | pages = 120–122}}</ref> Because of the difficulty in seeing this species, it is usually [[census]]ed by counting males calling between 2300 and 0300 hours;<ref name= bibby>{{cite book | last = Bibby | first = Colin J | coauthors= Burgess, Neil D; Hill, David A; Mustoe, Simon; Lambton, Sandra | title = Bird Census Techniques | year = 2000 | location = Kidlington, Oxfordshire | publisher = Academic Press | isbn =9780120958313 | page = 180 }}</ref> the birds do not move much at night, whereas they may wander up to 600&nbsp;m (650&nbsp;yd) during the day which could lead to double-counting if monitored then.<ref name= Hudson>{{cite journal | last= Hudson | first= Anne V | coauthors= Stowe, Tim J; Aspinall, Simon J | month= | year= 1990| title = Status and distribution of Corncrakes in Britain in 1988 | journal = British Birds | volume= 83 | issue = 5 | pages= 173–187 | url = |format = | doi = }}</ref> Identifying individual males suggests that just counting calling birds underestimates the true count by nearly 30%, and the discrepancy is likely to be greater, since only 80% of males may call at all on a given night.<ref name= Peake>{{cite journal | last= Peake | first= T M | coauthors= McGregor, P K | year= 2001 | title= Corncrake ''Crex crex'' census estimates: a conservation application of vocal individuality | journal = Animal Biodiversity and Conservation | volume= 24 | issue = 1 |language = | pages= 81–90 | url = http://www.bcn.es/museuciencies_fitxers/imatges/FitxerContingut1401.pdf |format = | doi = }}</ref>
 == Distribution and habitat ==
@@ Line 58: / Line 58: @@
 The Corn Crake is a difficult bird to see in its breeding sites, usually being hidden by vegetation, but will sometimes emerge into the open. Occasionally, individuals may become very confiding; for five consecutive summers, an individual crake on [[Tiree]] entered a kitchen to feed on scraps, and a wintering [[Barra]] bird in 1999 would come for chicken feed once the intended recipients had finished.<ref name="cocker"/> In Africa, it is more secretive than African Crake, and, unlike its relative, it is rarely seen in the open, although it occasionally feeds on tracks or road sides. This rail is most active early and late in the day, after heavy rain and during light rain. If flushed by a dog, it will fly less than 50&nbsp;m (150&nbsp;ft), frequently landing behind a bush or thicket, and then crouch on landing. Its typical flight is weak and fluttering, although less so than that of African Crake. For longer flights, such as migration, it has a steadier, stronger action with legs drawn up. If disturbed in the open, this crake will often run in a crouch for a short distance, with its neck stretched forward, then stand upright to watch the intruder. It walks with a high-stepping action, and can run swiftly through grass with its body held horizontal and laterally flattened. It will swim if essential. When captured it may feign death, recovering at once if it sees a way out.<ref name= taylor320/>
-The Corn Crake is solitary on the wintering grounds, with each bird occupying 4.2–4.9&nbsp;ha (10.4–11.6&nbsp;acres) at one time, although the total area used may be double that, since an individual may move locally due to flooding, plant growth, or grass cutting, Flocks of up to 40 birds may form  on migration, sometimes associating with [[Common Quail]]s. Migration takes place at night, and flocks resting during the day may aggregate to hundreds of birds at favoured sites.<ref name= taylor320/> The ability to migrate is innate, not learned from adults. Chicks raised from birds kept in captivity for ten generations were able to migrate to Africa and return with similar success to wild-bred young.<ref name= >{{cite journal || last= Pain | first= Debbie | coauthors = Green, Rhys; Clark, Nigel | year= 2011 | title= On the edge; can the Spoon-billed Sandpiper be saved? | journal= British Birds | volume= 104 | issue = 7 | pages= 350–363 | url = |format = | doi =  }}</ref>
+The Corn Crake is solitary on the wintering grounds, with each bird occupying 4.2–4.9&nbsp;ha (10.4–11.6&nbsp;acres) at one time, although the total area used may be double that, since an individual may move locally due to flooding, plant growth, or grass cutting, Flocks of up to 40 birds may form  on migration, sometimes associating with [[Common Quail]]s. Migration takes place at night, and flocks resting during the day may aggregate to hundreds of birds at favoured sites.<ref name= taylor320/> The ability to migrate is innate, not learned from adults. Chicks raised from birds kept in captivity for ten generations were able to migrate to Africa and return with similar success to wild-bred young.<ref name= >{{cite journal| last= Pain | first= Debbie | coauthors = Green, Rhys; Clark, Nigel | year= 2011 | title= On the edge; can the Spoon-billed Sandpiper be saved? | journal= British Birds | volume= 104 | issue = 7 | pages= 350–363 | url = |format = | doi =  }}</ref>
 === Breeding ===
@@ Line 64: / Line 64: @@
 Until 1995, it was assumed that the Corn Crake is [[monogamy|monogamous]], but it transpires that a male may have a shifting home range, and mate with two or more females, moving on when laying is almost complete. The male's territory can vary from 3–51&nbsp;ha (7.5–126&nbsp;acres), but averages 15.7&nbsp;ha. (39&nbsp;acres). The female has a much smaller range, averaging only 5.5&nbsp;ha (13.5&nbsp;acres). A male will challenge an intruder by calling with his wings drooped and his head pointing forward. Usually the stranger moves off; if it stays, the two birds square up with heads and necks raised and the wings touching the ground. They then run around giving the growling call and lunging at each other. A real fight may ensue, with the birds leaping at each other and pecking, and sometimes kicking. Females play no part in defending the territory. The male has a brief courtship display; the neck is extended and the head held down, the tail is fanned, and the wings are spread with the tips touching the ground. He will attempt to approach the female from behind, and then leap on her back to copulate. The female may be offered food by the male during courtship. The nest is typically in grassland, sometimes in safer sites along a hedge, or near an isolated tree or bush, or in overgrown vegetation. Where grass is not tall enough at the start of the season, the first nest may be constructed in herby or marsh vegetation, with the second brood in hay.<ref name= taylor320/> The second nest may also be at a higher altitude that the first, to take advantage of the later-developing grasses further up a hill.<ref name = BirdLife/> The nest, built in a scrape or hollow in the ground, is made of woven coarse dry grass and other plants, and lined with finer grasses.<ref name= Seebohm>{{cite book | last = Seebohm | first = Henry | title = Coloured Figures of the Eggs of British Birds | year = 1896 | location = Sheffield | publisher = Pawlson & Brailsford | page = 83 }}</ref>
-The nest is 12–15&nbsp;cm (5–6&nbsp;in) in diameter and 3–4&nbsp;cm (1–1.5&nbsp;in) deep. The clutch is 6–14, usually 8–12&nbsp;eggs; These are oval, slightly glossy, creamy or tinted with green, blue or grey, and blotched red-brown. They average 37&nbsp;×&nbsp;26&nbsp;mm, (1.5&nbsp;×&nbsp;1.0&nbsp;in) and weigh about 13–16&nbsp;g, (0.46–0.56&nbsp;oz),<ref name= taylor320/> of which 7% is shell.<ref name = BTO>{{cite web|title= Corncrake ''Crex crex '' (Linnaeus, 1758) |work= BTO''Web'' BirdFacts | url= http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob4210.htm | publisher=British Trust for Ornithology | accessdate = 12 June 2011}}</ref> The eggs are laid at daily intervals, but second clutches may sometimes have two eggs added per day. Incubation is by the female only; her tendency to sit tight when disturbed, or wait until the last moment to flee, leads to many deaths during hay-cutting and harvesting. The eggs hatch together after 19–20&nbsp;days, and the [[precocial]] chicks leave the nest within a day or two. They are fed by the female for three or four days, but can find their own food thereafter. The juveniles fledge after 34–38&nbsp;days. The second brood is started about 42 days after the first, and the incubation period is slightly shorter at 16–18&nbsp;days. The grown young may stay with the female until departure for Africa. Nest success in undisturbed sites is high, at 80-90%, but much lower in fertilised meadows and on arable land. The method and timing of mowing is crucial; mechanized mowing can kill 38-95% of chicks in a given site, and losses average 50% of first brood chicks and somewhat less than 40% of second brood chicks.<ref name= taylor320/> The annual adult survival rate is under 30%,<ref name = BTO/><ref name= green>{{cite journal | last= Green | first= Rhys E | year=2004 | title= A new method for estimating the adult survival rate of the Corncrake ''Crex crex'' and comparison with estimates from ring-recovery and ring-recapture data | journal= Ibis | volume= 146 | issue = |language = | pages= 501–508 | url = http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/green%20_04_a_tcm9-206323.pdf | doi = }}</ref> although a typical lifespan for an adult may be 5–7 years.<ref name= hume>{{cite book | last = Hume | first = Rob | coauthors= Royal Society for the Protection of Birds| title = RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe | year =2009 | location = London | publisher =Dorling Kindersley | isbn = 1405345896 | language = | page = 264}}</ref> The influence of weather on chick survival is limited; although chick growth is faster in dry or warm weather, the effects are relatively small. Unlike many precocial species, chicks are fed by their mother to a greater or lesser extent until they become independent, and this may cushion them from adverse conditions. The number of live chicks hatched is more important than the weather, with lower survival in large broods.<ref name= tylergreen>{{cite journal | last= Tyler| first= G A| coauthors = Green, Rhys E | year= 2004| title = Effects of weather on the survival and growth of Corncrake ''Crex crex'' chicks | journal= Ibis | volume= 146 | issue = |language = | pages= 69–76 | url = http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/tyler_%26_green_tcm9-206334.pdf |format = | doi = }}</ref>
+The nest is 12–15&nbsp;cm (5–6&nbsp;in) in diameter and 3–4&nbsp;cm (1–1.5&nbsp;in) deep. The clutch is 6–14, usually 8–12&nbsp;eggs; These are oval, slightly glossy, creamy or tinted with green, blue or grey, and blotched red-brown. They average 37&nbsp;×&nbsp;26&nbsp;mm, (1.5&nbsp;×&nbsp;1.0&nbsp;in) and weigh about 13–16&nbsp;g, (0.46–0.56&nbsp;oz),<ref name= taylor320/> of which 7% is shell.<ref name = BTO>{{cite web|title= Corncrake ''Crex crex '' (Linnaeus, 1758) |work= BTO''Web'' BirdFacts | url= http://blx1.bto.org/birdfacts/results/bob4210.htm | publisher=British Trust for Ornithology | accessdate = 12 June 2011}}</ref> The eggs are laid at daily intervals, but second clutches may sometimes have two eggs added per day. Incubation is by the female only; her tendency to sit tight when disturbed, or wait until the last moment to flee, leads to many deaths during hay-cutting and harvesting. The eggs hatch together after 19–20&nbsp;days, and the [[precocial]] chicks leave the nest within a day or two. They are fed by the female for three or four days, but can find their own food thereafter. The juveniles fledge after 34–38&nbsp;days. The second brood is started about 42 days after the first, and the incubation period is slightly shorter at 16–18&nbsp;days. The grown young may stay with the female until departure for Africa. Nest success in undisturbed sites is high, at 80-90%, but much lower in fertilised meadows and on arable land. The method and timing of mowing is crucial; mechanized mowing can kill 38-95% of chicks in a given site, and losses average 50% of first brood chicks and somewhat less than 40% of second brood chicks.<ref name= taylor320/> The annual adult survival rate is under 30%,<ref name = BTO/><ref name= green>{{cite journal | last= Green | first= Rhys E | year=2004 | title= A new method for estimating the adult survival rate of the Corncrake ''Crex crex'' and comparison with estimates from ring-recovery and ring-recapture data | journal= Ibis | volume= 146 | issue = 3|language = | pages= 501–508 | url = http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/green%20_04_a_tcm9-206323.pdf | doi =10.1111/j.1474-919x.2004.00291.x }}</ref> although a typical lifespan for an adult may be 5–7 years.<ref name= hume>{{cite book | last = Hume | first = Rob | coauthors= Royal Society for the Protection of Birds| title = RSPB Complete Birds of Britain and Europe | year =2009 | location = London | publisher =Dorling Kindersley | isbn = 1405345896 | language = | page = 264}}</ref> The influence of weather on chick survival is limited; although chick growth is faster in dry or warm weather, the effects are relatively small. Unlike many precocial species, chicks are fed by their mother to a greater or lesser extent until they become independent, and this may cushion them from adverse conditions. The number of live chicks hatched is more important than the weather, with lower survival in large broods.<ref name= tylergreen>{{cite journal | last= Tyler| first= G A| coauthors = Green, Rhys E | year= 2004| title = Effects of weather on the survival and growth of Corncrake ''Crex crex'' chicks | journal= Ibis | volume= 146 | issue = |language = | pages= 69–76 | url = http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/tyler_%26_green_tcm9-206334.pdf |format = | doi = }}</ref>
 === Feeding ===
@@ Line 76: / Line 76: @@
 Predators on the breeding grounds include [[feral]] and domestic [[cat]]s, [[introduced species|introduced]] [[American Mink|American mink]], feral [[ferret]]s, [[European Otter|otters]] and [[red Fox|red fox]]es, and birds including the [[Common Buzzard]] and [[Hooded Crow]].<ref name= taylor320/> In Lithuania, the introduced [[Raccoon Dog]] has also been recorded as taking Corn Crakes. When chicks are exposed by rapid mowing, they may be taken by large birds including the [[White Stork]], [[harrier (bird)|harriers]] and other [[bird of prey|birds of prey]], [[gull]]s and [[corvidae|corvids]].<ref name= kees19>Koffijberg & Schaffer (2006) p. 21</ref> At undisturbed sites nests and broods are rarely attacked, as reflected in a high breeding success. There is a record of a Corn Cake on migration through [[Gabon]] being killed by a [[Black Goshawk|Black Sparrowhawk]].<ref name= taylor320>Taylor & van Perlo (2000) pp. 320–327</ref>
-The widespread [[Trematoda|fluke]] ''Prosthogonimus ovatus'', which lives in the [[oviduct]]s of birds has been recorded in the Corn Crake,<ref name = Rothschild >{{cite book |title= Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos. A study of bird parasites | author= [[Miriam Rothschild|Rothschild, Miriam]]; Clay, Theresa |year= 1953 |publisher= Collins |location= London |pages = 204–205 |url= http://ia331318.us.archive.org/1/items/fleasflukescucko017900mbp/fleasflukescucko017900mbp.pdf |format = PDF}}</ref> as have the [[parasitic worm]] ''Plagiorchis elegans'',<ref name= Yildirimhan >{{cite journal | last= Yildirimhan | first= Hikmet S | coauthors = Bursey Charles R; Altunel, F Naci | year=2011 | title= Helminth parasites of the Balkan green lizard, ''Lacerta trilineata'' Bedriaga 1886, from Bursa, Turkey | journal= Turkish Journal of Zoology | volume= 35 | issue =3 | pages= 1–17 | url = http://www.lacertilia.de/AS/Bibliografie/BIB_5626.pdf |format = | doi = 10.3906/zoo-0910-1 }}</ref> the larvae of parasitic flies,<ref name= Matyukhin >{{cite journal | last= Matyukhin | first= V | coauthors= Krivosheina, M G |year= 2008 | title = Contribution to the knowledge of Diptera (Insecta) parasitizing on birds | journal= Entomological Review | volume= 88| issue = 2 | pages= 258–259 | url = |format = | doi = 0.1134/S0013873808020115 }}</ref> and [[Ixodidae|hard ticks]] of the genera ''[[Haemaphysalis]]'' and ''[[Ixodes]]''.<ref name= Hoogstraa>{{cite journal | last= Hoogstraal | first= Harry | coauthors= Traylor, Melvin A; Gaber, Sobhy; Malakatis, George; Guindy, Ezzat; Helmy, Ibrahim | year= 1964 | title= Ticks (Ixodidae) on migrating birds in Egypt, spring and fall 1962 | journal= Bulletin of the World Health Organisation | volume= 30 | pages= 355–367 | url = http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2554818/pdf/bullwho00288-0057.pdf | format = | doi = }}</ref>
+The widespread [[Trematoda|fluke]] ''Prosthogonimus ovatus'', which lives in the [[oviduct]]s of birds has been recorded in the Corn Crake,<ref name = Rothschild >{{cite book |title= Fleas, Flukes and Cuckoos. A study of bird parasites | author= [[Miriam Rothschild|Rothschild, Miriam]]; Clay, Theresa |year= 1953 |publisher= Collins |location= London |pages = 204–205 |url= http://ia331318.us.archive.org/1/items/fleasflukescucko017900mbp/fleasflukescucko017900mbp.pdf |format = PDF}}</ref> as have the [[parasitic worm]] ''Plagiorchis elegans'',<ref name= Yildirimhan >{{cite journal | last= Yildirimhan | first= Hikmet S | coauthors = Bursey Charles R; Altunel, F Naci | year=2011 | title= Helminth parasites of the Balkan green lizard, ''Lacerta trilineata'' Bedriaga 1886, from Bursa, Turkey | journal= Turkish Journal of Zoology | volume= 35 | issue =3 | pages= 1–17 | url = http://www.lacertilia.de/AS/Bibliografie/BIB_5626.pdf |format = | doi = 10.3906/zoo-0910-1 }}</ref> the larvae of parasitic flies,<ref name= Matyukhin >{{cite journal | last= Matyukhin | first= V | coauthors= Krivosheina, M G |year= 2008 | title = Contribution to the knowledge of Diptera (Insecta) parasitizing on birds | journal= Entomological Review | volume= 88| issue = 2 | pages= 258–259 | url = |format = | doi = 10.1134/S0013873808020115 }}</ref> and [[Ixodidae|hard ticks]] of the genera ''[[Haemaphysalis]]'' and ''[[Ixodes]]''.<ref name= Hoogstraa>{{cite journal | last= Hoogstraal | first= Harry | coauthors= Traylor, Melvin A; Gaber, Sobhy; Malakatis, George; Guindy, Ezzat; Helmy, Ibrahim | year= 1964 | title= Ticks (Ixodidae) on migrating birds in Egypt, spring and fall 1962 | journal= Bulletin of the World Health Organisation | volume= 30 | pages= 355–67 | format = | doi = | pmc = 2554818 | issue= 3 | pmid= 14163959 }}</ref>
-During the reintroduction of Corn Crakes to England in the 2003 breeding season, [[enteritis]] and ill heath in pre-release birds was due to [[bacteria]] of a [[pathogen]]ic ''[[Campylobacter]]'' species. Subsequently, [[microbiology]] tests were done to detect infected individuals and to find the source of the bacteria in their environment.<ref name= Mudenda>{{cite journal | last= Mudenda | first= N | coauthors= Sainsbury, A W; Macgregor, S K; Flach, E J; Owen, R J | year= 2008 | title= Prevalence of ''Campylobacter'' species in corncrakes (''Crex crex'') in a reintroduction programme in the UK | journal= Veterinary Record | volume= 163 | issue = 9 |language = | pages= 274–275 | url = |format = | doi = 10.1136/vr.163.9.274 }}</ref>
+During the reintroduction of Corn Crakes to England in the 2003 breeding season, [[enteritis]] and ill heath in pre-release birds was due to [[bacteria]] of a [[pathogen]]ic ''[[Campylobacter]]'' species. Subsequently, [[microbiology]] tests were done to detect infected individuals and to find the source of the bacteria in their environment.<ref name= Mudenda>{{cite journal | last= Mudenda | first= N | coauthors= Sainsbury, A W; Macgregor, S K; Flach, E J; Owen, R J | year= 2008 | title= Prevalence of ''Campylobacter'' species in corncrakes (''Crex crex'') in a reintroduction programme in the UK | journal= Veterinary Record | volume= 163 | issue = 9 |language = | pages= 274–275 | url = |format = | doi = 10.1136/vr.163.9.274 | pmid= 18757906 }}</ref>
 == Status ==
@@ Line 117: / Line 117: @@
 == Cited texts ==
 * {{cite book | last = Koffijberg | first = Kees | coauthors= Schaffer, Norbert | title = International single species action plan for the conservation of the Corncrake ''Crex crex'' | year = 2006 | location = Bonn, Germany | publisher = Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals (CMS) and Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) (CMS Technical Series & AEWA Technical Series 14 & 9) | isbn = |url =http://www.unep-aewa.org/publications/technical_series/ts9_ssap_corncrake_complete.pdf |pages = }}
-*{{cite journal | last= Livezey | first= Bradley C | year= 1998| title= A phylogenetic analysis of the Gruiformes (Aves) based on morphological characters, with an emphasis on the rails (Rallidae) | journal= Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London | volume= 353 |language = | issue = | pages= 2077&ndash;2151 | doi = | pmc=1692427}}
+*{{cite journal | last= Livezey | first= Bradley C | year= 1998| title= A phylogenetic analysis of the Gruiformes (Aves) based on morphological characters, with an emphasis on the rails (Rallidae) | journal= Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London | volume= 353 |language = | issue = 1378| pages= 2077&ndash;2151 | doi = 10.1098/rstb.1998.0353| pmc=1692427}}
 * {{cite book | last = Lockwood| first =W B | coauthors= | title = Oxford Book of British Bird Names | year = 1984 | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | location= Oxford | isbn = 0192141554 }}
 * {{cite book | last = Taylor | first = Barry | coauthors= van Perlo, Berl | title = Rails | year = 2000| publisher = Pica |location = Robertsbridge, Sussex | isbn = 1873403593|pages = }}