- Grus grus
Identification
95–120 cm (37-47 in)
- Grey
- White facial streak
- Black wing plumes
- Red crown patch
Juvenile: lacks the red crown patch
Distribution
Breeds northern Eurasia; winters to north Africa, south India and southeast Asia.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
The proposed smaller subspecies G. g. lilfordi ranging into East Asia is now generally regarded as undiagnosable. They do not differ genetically and the supposed color differences are thought to be due to differences in feather-painting behavior. Although now considered to be monotypic, a new race, G. g. archibaldi was described from the Transcaucasian region by Ilyashenko (2008). It is characterized by the absence of bare red skin on its hind-crown. Its validity has been provisionally accepted by Archibald et. al (2019).
Habitat
A variety of shallow wetlands, including borders of flood forests.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet includes leaves, roots, berries, insects, small birds and mammals.
Breeding
The nest is a mound of vegetative material.
They perform a spectacular dance.
Vocalisation
Call: krro and karr
Recording by Alok Tewari
Porbandar, Coastal Gujarat, India, Dec.-2010
Calls given in flight by a group of ten individuals before alighting in a nearby field.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- Archibald, G.W., Meine, C.D., Garcia, E.F.J. & Kirwan, G.M. (2019). Common Crane (Grus grus). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/53560 on 26 April 2019).
- Wikipedia contributors. (2019, April 25). Common crane. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 07:52, May 7, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Common_crane&oldid=894074169
- Mullarney, K., L. Svensson, D. Zetterstrom, and P. Grant (1999). Collins Bird Guide. Collins. ISBN 0-00-219728-6.
- Ilyashenko V.Y. 2008. The new form of crane from Trans-Caucasus. – Russian Ornithological Journal, 17, express issue 412: 559?562 .
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2023) Common Crane. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 December 2023 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Common_Crane
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
