Rallidae Crex Crex

Corncrakes (Rallidae Crex Crex - to extend full courtesy) are one of the largest of the Crake family and a cousin of the domestic chicken. They are an extremely shy and unobtrusive bird. In their natural habitat of meadows and wetlands, they live quietly during the day, observing a well-established protocol of not being seen nor heard. Nightfall, however, is the cue for the aggressive and noisy male to unleash a barrage of territorial braggadocios, which may be heard up to a mile away and can continue unabated until dawn. That harsh and unmistakeable mating call is also the source of its Latin nomenclature, Crex Crex.