Bird Guide

Corn Crake vs Grey-cowled Wood Rail

Corn Crake (Crex crex)

Corn Crake

Crex crex

Medium155 gGrassland

The corn crake is a medium-sized rail, 27–30 cm (11–12 in) long with a wingspan of 42–53 cm (17–21 in). Males weigh 165 g (5.8 oz) on average and females 145 g (5.1 oz). The adult male has the crown of its head and all of its upperparts brown-black in colour, streaked with buff or grey. The wing coverts are a distinctive chestnut colour with some white bars. The face, neck and breast are blue-grey, apart from a pale brown streak from the base of the bill to behind the eye, the belly is white, and the flanks, and undertail are barred with chestnut and white. Voice: On the breeding grounds, the male corn crake's advertising call is a loud, repetitive, grating krek krek normally delivered from a low perch with the bird's head and neck almost vertical and its bill wide open. The call can be heard from 1.5 km (0.93 mi) away, and serves to establish the breeding territory, attract females, and challenge intruding males.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Corn Crake
Recorded by Petr Holecek · Call · Petrovice, Ústí nad Labem District, Ústí nad Labem Region, Czech Republic · CC0
Photo: Charlotte Kirchner · CC BY 4.0
Grey-cowled Wood Rail (Aramides cajaneus)

Grey-cowled Wood Rail

Aramides cajaneus

Large397 gForest

The grey-cowled wood rail usually measures 33–40 centimetres (13–16 in) long and weighs 320–465 grams (11.3–16.4 oz), particularly large for a wood rail. The upperparts are olive-green to dark brown. The head and neck are medium-grey, blending into a brown patch at the back of the head. The eyes are red. The chest and flanks are rufous. The belly, rump, and tail are black. The legs are coral-red, while the bill is a bright greenish-yellow. The males and females are similar. Juvenile birds are similar to the adult but are duller in colour, with their belly sooty-black and flecked with buff. Voice: The grey-cowled wood rail has a loud, repetitive cackling call mainly heard at dawn and dusk: pop-tiyi pop-tiyi co-co-co-co-co or chitico chitico cao-cao-cao. These songs are often sung in a chorus or duet. The alarm call is a harsh, loud cackle or clucking shriek. The chitico chitico cao-cao-cao call made by this rail is similar to the brown wood rail's kui-ko call.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Grey-cowled Wood Rail
Recorded by René Fernando Bilbao · Uncertain · Mar de Cobo, Mar Chiquita, Provincia de Buenos Aires, Argentina · CC BY-SA 4.0
Photo: Johann Baptist von Spix (1781-1826) · Public domain

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Corn Crake and Grey-cowled Wood Rail.