Corncrake

(Crex crex)

Category of conservation concern (IUCN, 2020) – Least Concern

Population size: 4 000 – 8 800 calling males

Distribution pattern

With patchy distribution mainly in Northern and in Western Bulgaria and with dispersed habitats in the Southern and the Eastern parts of the country. Most densely distributed is in the Sofia Field, Ponor, Vrachanska Mountain, Western Stara Planina, the plains South of Vitosha, in Kraishte, the Fore Balkan, and in other areas. In the rest of the country more dispersed and on smaller territories – wet valley sites in the Danube plain and Dobrudzha, broader river valleys in the Eastern Stara Planina, in the area of the former Straldzha marsh, the Burgas and Thracian Plains in isolated sites in the Rhodopes, Rila, Pirin, Strandzha Mountains, etc. A number of localities are not occupied annually and therefore the distribution varies.

Comparative distribution of the species compared to the first breeding birds atlas (Iankov, 2007): Breeding locality until 2007 | Breeding locality until 2007, confirmed after 2015 – | New breeding locality after 2015. – The breeding localities after 2015 are identified on a base of raw data from smartbirds.org.

Habitats

Breeds mostly in wet meadows with single bushes, in streams or swampy areas, often on slopes – humid grassland and tall herb communities close to running waters or standing fresh waters, also in towns, villages, and industrial sites. Less often in mesophilic grasslands, after mowing of the lowland meadows, some of the birds move to alpine and subalpine grasslands. As an exception also in crops and other (annual) grass crops, wastelands.

Trends in population changes for the period 2013-2020

Not analysed

Threats

Not analysed