Blue Crane - BirdForum Opus

Anthropoides paradisea

Photo by Max Holdt
Etosha National Park, Namibia

Identification

Length 1.0-1.2 m, mass 4.2-5.8 kg, males larger than females. Plumage is blue-grey except for white crown and lores.

The Wattled Crane is similar, but has a grey crown and white neck.

Distribution

Southern Africa: Widespread in South Africa. There is an isolated breeding population in the Etosha National Park, Namibia. Marginal or vagrant in Lesotho, Swaziland, Botswana and Zimbabwe.

Taxonomy

Hybrids of the Blue Crane and the Wattled Crane are known from the wild.

Anthropoides paradisea is monotypic.

Habitat

Grassland, short scrubland, wetlands, cultivated pastures and crop lands.

Behaviour

Food includes invertebrates, frogs, reptiles, fish, leaves and seeds.

Breeding: The nest is a thinly lined scrape on dry ground or pad of vegetative material on marshy ground. One or two eggs are laid October to February.

References

Hockey PAR, Dean WRJ & Ryan PG (eds) 2005. Robert's Birds of Southern Africa, 7th edition. John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. ISBN 0620340533

Claassens A & Marais E 2008. Species information page - Blue Crane [1]. Downloaded 25 January 2008.

External Links

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