 Corn crakes were first described by Linnaeus in his Systema <unk> in 1758 as <unk> crex , but was subsequently moved to the genus Crex , created by German naturalist and ornithologist Johann <unk> <unk> in 1803 , and named Crex <unk> . The earlier use of crex gives it priority over <unk> 's specific name <unk> , and leads to the current name of Crex crex . The binomial name , Crex crex , from the Ancient Greek " <unk> " , is <unk> , referring to the crake 's repetitive grating call . The common name was formerly spelt as a single word , " corncrake " , but the official version is now " corn crake " . The English names refer to the species habit of nesting in dry hay or cereal fields , rather than marshes used by most members of this family . 
