Family RALLID^. Genus Crex. 



Subfamily Rallin/e. 



CORN CRAKE. 



CREX PRATENSIS— ^«f/%j/««. 



Geographical Distribution. — British: Generally distributed 

 during summer throughout the British Islands, extending even to 

 the Outer Hebrides, the Orkneys and Shetland, and the Channel 

 Islands. It is an occasional visitor to St. Kilda. Numbers vary 

 considerably locally. Foreign : West Palsearctic region, summer ; 

 Ethiopian region, winter. Occasional summer visitor to Faroes. 

 Breeds in Scandinavia as far north as Arctic Circle, and has been 

 obtained even three degrees higher. In West Russia it does not 

 appear to range north of Archangel (lat. 64° 32' N.) ; in East 

 Russia not beyond lat. 60°. Eastwards it is common in the 

 Altai Mountains, and in the valley of the Yenesay ranges as far 

 north as lat. 59}^°. Its eastern limit appears to be the valley of 

 the Lena. Although of only accidental occurrence in North-west 

 India, it is common in Afghanistan, and has been found in North 

 Persia. It is a common visitor to Russian Turkestan and the 

 Caucasus ; is said to be resident in Palestine and Asia Minor ; is 

 only known on passage in Egypt, but is resident in Algeria. It 

 also breeds throughout Central Europe and Southern Europe, 

 with the exception of the Spanish peninsula, Southern Italy, and 

 Greece, where it is only known on passage. It winters in Africa 

 as far south as Natal, and is occasionally found at that season in 

 the Transvaal and Cape Colony. The Corn Crake is a great 

 wanderer, and is an accidental visitor to the Canaries, Madeira, 

 and the Azores, and even to the Bermudas, the east coast of the 

 United States, Greenland, and it is said, New Zealand ! 



Allied Forms. — None very closely related. 



