crake

crake
/krayk/, n.
any of several short-billed rails, esp. the corn crake.
[1275-1325; ME < ON krakr, kraki CROW]

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bird
 any of numerous marsh birds of the family Rallidae (order Gruiformes), generally any small rail (q.v.) in which the bill is short and conical. The name is chiefly European but can be extended to New World rails of this type. The most widespread genus is Porzana (13 species), typified by the spotted crake (P. porzana) found in Europe and eastward to Mongolia; in winter it reaches southern Asia and northern Africa. It is a brown bird 25 cm (10 inches) long with a light-spotted breast and buffy undertail. Its New World counterpart is the sora, or Carolina rail (P. carolina). The sora is about 23 cm (9 inches) long and grayish brown with black on the face and throat, with a short yellow bill. Other Porzana species are Baillon's crake (P. pusilla), occurring in parts of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and New Zealand; the spotless crake (P. tabuensis), ranging from Australia to the Philippines; and the little crake (P. parva), a relatively common Eurasian form.

      The corncrake, or land rail (Crex crex), of Europe and Asia, migrating south to Africa, is a slightly larger brown bird with a rather stout bill and wings showing reddish in flight. Africa's black crake (Limnocorax flavirostra) is a 20-centimetre- (8-inch-) long form, black with a green bill and pink legs. It is less secretive than most. Pygmy crakes (Sarothrura species), about 14 cm (6 inches) long, are very secretive, inhabiting swampy African forests. Other New World crakes are the several species of Laterallus (including the black rail, L. jamaicensis) and several related genera.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Crake — (kr[=a]k), v. t. & i. [See {Crack}.] 1. To cry out harshly and loudly, like the bird called crake. [1913 Webster] 2. To boast; to speak loudly and boastfully. [Obs.] [1913 Webster] Each man may crake of that which was his own. Mir. for Mag. [1913 …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Crake — heißen: der River Crake, Abfluss des Coniston Water und Zufluss des Leven (Cumbria) im englischen Lake District Paul Crake (* 1976), australischer Radrennfahrer Diese Seite ist eine Begriff …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Crake — Crake, n. A boast. See {Crack}, n. [Obs.] Spenser. [1913 Webster] …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • Crake — Crake, n. [Cf. Icel. kr[=a]ka crow, kr[=a]kr raven, Sw. kr[*a]ka, Dan. krage; perh. of imitative origin. Cf. {Crow}.] (Zo[ o]l.) Any species or rail of the genera {Crex} and {Porzana}; so called from its singular cry. See {Corncrake}. [1913… …   The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • crake — [krāk] n. pl. crakes or crake [ME crak < ON kraka,CROW1] any of several rails with long legs and a short bill; esp., the corncrake …   English World dictionary

  • Crake — This name, with variant spellings Crake and Creyk, is of northern English locational origin from a place in the North Riding of Yorkshire called Crayke. Recorded as Crec in the Anglo Saxon Chronicle, dated 685 A.D. and as Creic in the Domesday… …   Surnames reference

  • crake — [[t]kreɪk[/t]] n. orn any of several short billed rails, as the corn crake • Etymology: 1275–1325; ME < ON krākr, krāki crow I …   From formal English to slang

  • crake — /kreɪk / (say krayk) noun any of various small, widely distributed birds of the family Rallidae, frequenting swamps and reedy margins of lakes, as the spotless crake, Porzana tabuensis, of Australasia, New Zealand and Pacific islands. {Middle… …  

  • crake — griežlės statusas T sritis zoologija | vardynas atitikmenys: lot. Crex angl. crake rus. дергач, m; коростель, m pranc. crex, m ryšiai: platesnis terminas – vandeninės vištos siauresnis terminas – afrikinė griežlė siauresnis terminas – paprastoji… …   Paukščių pavadinimų žodynas

  • crake —  a crow ; hence crake berries, crow berries. N …   A glossary of provincial and local words used in England

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