What is a corncrake? What doe is t sound like? Where can you go to see them? In this BBC Countryfile Magazine guide we take a closer look at these rare birds.

By Dominic Couzens

Published: Wednesday, 08 February 2023 at 12:00 am

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It is almost impossible these days to imagine how common the corncrake once was in Britain. It bred all over the country and its loud call was a familiar sound to everyday country dwellers. It was so numerous that people used to eat it.

Now its population is a barely a shadow in comparison. There is perhaps no more evocative symbol of a long-vanished and less complicated world.

In this guide, we take a closer look at the corncrake, revealing what they look like and sound like, where they live and what family of birds they belong to.

Interested in learning more about British wildlife? Check out our guides to ducks, wading birds and reptiles.

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What is a corncrake?

The corncrake – Crex crex – is a warm brown rail with rich chestnut-brown wings and short, stubby bill. It measures 27-30cm in size. It’s an extraordinarily elusive bird, able to slip easily through dense vegetation and out of sight.

Despite its short, rounded wings that make its flight look weak, it is a long-distance migrant, spending the winter in Africa south of the Sahara.

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Corncrake sound

You might have noticed that the scientific name is “Crex crex”, and this is an excellent description of the spring song, which can be heard day and night.

You can imitate it by drawing the teeth of a comb over a full matchbox, but then imagine it much louder.

Corncrakes are adept at throwing their voices, and they plague birdwatchers by appearing to be very close one moment but far the next.

Podcast: sound of a corncrake

Join naturalist James Fair on the Hebridean island of Tiree as he goes in search of the corncrake with local expert John Bowler of the RSPB.

• Podcast: A quest to hear the mysterious corncrake on the island of Tiree

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Corncrake habitat

In contrast to our other rails, the corncrake is much less of a waterbird, associated with meadows, fields and pasture.

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Corncrake distribution

The primary reason for the corncrakes decline was agricultural changes, particularly the shift from late hay-cutting to early cut for silage, along with mechanisation of mowing. It thrived when hay was cut by scythe, and today only flourishes where such practises are still carried out, such as in the Hebrides.

It is still found in parts of Scotland and Ireland and has been reintroduced to the fenlands of Eastern England. Only intensive conservation work keeps it going.

The UK is home to 1,200 breeding pairs of corncrake (0 in winter). They are listed as rare and are on the Red List of Species of Conservation Concern.

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Corncrake diet

The corncrake feeds on a variety of invertebrates and plant matter such as seeds.

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Corncrake video

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