From Opus

Grus antigone

Photo by radz
Location: Bharatpur, India

[edit] Identification

156cm. Grey, bare red head, white crown and a long dark pointed bill, black wing tips, long red or pink legs. The sexes are similar, but young birds are duller and browner. The male is larger than the female.

[edit] Distribution

Northern Pakistan and India, Nepal, Southeast Asia and Queensland, Australia.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies

• G. a. antigone - N India to Nepal and (formerly?) Bangladesh
• G. a. sharpii - Cambodia and s Laos; winters in Vietnam
• G. a. gilliae - Spottily distributed coastal n Australia (mainly Queensland)

[edit] Habitat

Freshwater marshes and plains.

[edit] Behaviour

They forage in shallow water or in fields, probing with their bills. The diet includes insects, aquatic plants and animals, crustaceans, seeds and berries, small vertebrates, and invertebrates.

It nests on the ground, laying 2-3 eggs. Both parents take turns sitting on the nest. They tend to mate for life

[edit] External Links

• View more images of this species on the ABID