Editing Corn crake (section)

{{Short description|Species of bird found in Europe, Asia and Africa}}
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{{Redirect|Landrail|ships with that name|HMS Landrail}}
{{redirect|Crex|the railroad company|Citicorp Railmark Inc. (Citirail)}}
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{{Featured article}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Corn crake
| image = Ruisrääkkä.JPG
| image_alt = Brown bird with gray face and red legs facing left whilst walking amidst short flowering grasses toward a thicker patch of rough grasses
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Crex crex'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22692543A86147127 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692543A86147127.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| genus = Crex
| parent_authority = [[Johann Matthäus Bechstein|Bechstein]], 1803
| species = crex
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| synonyms = *''Rallus crex'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
*''Crex pratensis'' {{small|Bechstein,&nbsp;1803}}
| synonyms_ref = <ref name="Stone1894" />
| range_map = CrexCrex2019 3.png
| range_map_alt = Map showing the breeding regions of ''Crex crex'' (most of Europe and South-Siberian Russia up to Mongolia), and their winter migration region (South-West Africa).
| range_map_caption = Range of ''C. crex'' {{leftlegend|#00FF00|Breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#00FFFF|Passage|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#007FFF|Non-breeding|outline=gray}} {{leftlegend|#FFFF00|Extant & Reintroduced (breeding)|outline=gray}}
}}

The '''corn crake''', '''corncrake''' or '''landrail''' ('''''Crex crex''''') is a bird in the [[Rallidae|rail family]]. It breeds in Europe and Asia as far east as western China, and [[bird migration|migrates]] to Africa for the Northern Hemisphere's [[winter]]. It is a medium-sized [[crake]] with [[Buff (colour)|buff]]- or grey-streaked brownish-black upperparts, [[chestnut (color)|chestnut]] markings on the wings, and blue-grey underparts with rust-coloured and white bars on the flanks and undertail. The strong [[beak|bill]] is flesh-toned, the [[Iris (anatomy)|iris]] is pale brown, and the legs and feet are pale grey. Juveniles are similar in [[plumage]] to adults, and [[down feather|downy]] chicks are black, as with all rails. There are no [[subspecies]], although individuals from the east of the breeding range tend to be slightly paler than their western counterparts. The male's call is a loud ''krek krek'', from which the scientific name is derived. 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 [[hay]]fields, 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 cream-coloured eggs which are covered with [[rufous]] blotches. These hatch in 19–20 days, and the black [[precocial]] chicks [[fledge]] after about five weeks. This crake is in steep decline across much of its former breeding range because modern farming practices often destroy nests before breeding is completed. The corn crake is [[omnivorous]] but mainly feeds on [[invertebrate]]s, the occasional small frog or mammal, and plant material including grass seed and cereal grain. Threats include dogs, cats, other [[introduced species|introduced]] and feral mammals, large birds, various [[Parasitism|parasite]]s and [[disease]]s.

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]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> Numbers in western China are more significant than previously thought, and [[Conservation biology|conservation]] measures have facilitated an increased population in some countries which had suffered the greatest losses. Despite its elusive nature, the loud call has ensured the corn crake has been noted in literature, and garnered a range of local and dialect names.