- Lifespan
- 5–8 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 27–30 cm, wingspan 46–53 cm; 150–200 g
- Habitat
- Grasslands, meadows, and cereal crops with tall, dense vegetation providing good cover.
- UK Distribution
- Summer breeding visitor to the UK, primarily in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and western regions; arrives April–May and departs August–September. Once common, now confined to a handful of sites.
- Diet
- Omnivorous, feeding on insects, spiders, small vertebrates, and plant material including seeds and vegetation.
- Prey
- Insects, spiders, worms, small frogs, and rodents.
- Predators
- Foxes, stoats, rats, crows, and birds of prey such as buzzards and sparrowhawks.
- Mating Season
- April to July
- Breeding
- Clutch of 8–12 eggs, incubation period 14–16 days, typically one brood per year. Young fledge at approximately 34–38 days old.
- Behaviour
- Highly secretive and elusive, remaining hidden in dense vegetation and rarely flying except at night. Males are renowned for their distinctive loud, repetitive 'crex-crex' call, delivered from concealed positions at dawn and dusk. Solitary and territorial during breeding season.