Corn Crake
Crex crex · Cristel de câmp
The voice of traditional hay meadows — a rasping 'crex-crex' heard at night, from a bird that almost never shows itself.
At a glance
- Status in Romania
- Summer visitor
- Habitat
- Meadow
- Activity
- Evening · Night · Morning
- Diet
- Mostly carnivorous: insects, worms, snails and spiders, and occasionally amphibians, small reptiles, mammals or bird chicks.
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)
- Photography difficulty
- Difficult
Photograph this species
- Best months
- April, May, June, July, August
- Best time / activity
- Evening · Night · Morning
- Photography difficulty
- Difficult
- Where to look
- Listen at night in late spring in traditionally managed hay meadows in the hills.
Months confirmed by a Romanian source. General guidance, not local sightings.
Photography Guide
Practical starting points based on the species’ behaviour and habitat, not fixed rules.
- Where and how to look
- Listen at night in late spring in traditionally managed hay meadows in the hills.
- Best time / activity
- Evening · Night · Morning
- Behaviour to anticipate
- Brief appearances at the meadow edge at dawn or dusk.
- Photography difficulty
- Difficult
- Fieldcraft
- Photographing this species is mostly about finding a regularly calling male and waiting at the meadow edge.
- Ethics
- Never enter tall meadow grass in the breeding season or use playback — nests and chicks are on the ground.
Identification
Habitat
Distribution
Approximate range in Romania
Diet
Behaviour
Seasonality in Romania
Breeds in Romania and is migratory. Arrives in April–May and departs for its wintering grounds in southern Africa at the end of summer.
Presence
Estimated from existing data
Breeding
Migration
Wintering
Data note. Some monthly timing is based on existing estimates and has not yet been verified against a Romanian source.
About this data
Source-verified months inform the seasonal filters. Local timing can vary. Unconfirmed months do not imply absence. Presence verification is separate from monthly status; each month's details identify its verification. Lighter bands mark estimated timing. Empty event rows mean no event is recorded, not confirmed absence.