The colorful facts about these majestic birds
Print Edition
Cranes are large birds with a length ranging from 90 centimeters (demoiselle crane) to 176 centimeters (sarus crane).
These long-legged and streamlined birds fly with their necks outstretched and legs extended beyond the tail.
Most species have some bare skin on the face and this is used to communicate with other cranes. The only two exceptions are blue cranes and demoiselle cranes.
Males and females do not have obvious differences in appearance, but males tend to be larger than females.
They are omnivores. Their main diet consists of roots, seeds, grains, grass, berries, leaves and nuts but they also eat insects, snails and small animals.
Cranes are very vocal birds and have specialized calls.
During breeding season, cranes are territorial and in the non-breeding season they tend to form large flocks and feed together as it’s crucial for safety and nurturing the young.
Cranes are monogamous and establish long-term pair bonds.
There are 15 species of cranes worldwide including nine found in China. Of the nine, the common crane, black-necked crane, red-crowned crane, white-napped crane, sarus crane and demoiselle crane breed in China.
The demoiselle crane is the smallest crane species and has one of the toughest migration routes. They fly across the Himalayan Mountains from late August through September to arrive in India for the winter.
Name: Hooded crane
Scientific Name: Grus monacha
One of the smallest cranes.
Has a long, straight yellow-green beak.
Has grey legs and feet, the top of the neck and head is white except for a patch of bare red skin above the eyes.
They have hazel yellow to orange brown eyes.
The body is dark grey with some black feathers around the lower part of the neck.
The juvenile hooded crane’s crown is covered with black and white feathers in the first year, and has some brownish wash on their body.
There are approximately 10,000 wild hooded cranes around the world, and about one tenth winter in China.
They breed in Siberia, Russia and Mongolia. Two breeding sites have been found in Heilongjiang Province, China.
The hooded cranes travel in families or large groups.
At Chongming Dongtan, the sedge marsh and the edges of the tidal channels are their favorite places as they can easily feed on the sedge corms floating on the water. They move to the inner side of the sedge marsh or other shallow areas to roost during the high tide period.
The hooded crane is on the IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species and is a class I national protected species in China.
Over 80 percent of the population winters in Izumi, Japan, as the result of artificial supplementary feeding. This also poses a potential risk to the species in case of catastrophes or disease outbreak, according to IUCN and the International Crane Foundation.
A small number also winter in South Korea.
Name: Common crane or Eurasian crane
Scientific name: Grus grus
The body is slate gray with the rump darker than the breast and wings.
The forehead and lores are black with a red crown. The chin, throat and anterior part of the neck are black to dark gray. A white streak stretches from behind the eyes to the upper back. The legs and toes are black, the bill is light colored.
The head and neck feathers of juveniles are gray tipped with cinnamon and the crown is fully covered by feathers.
Every two years the adult common crane sheds its feathers after breeding and before migration. They remain flightless for six weeks until new feathers grow.
Common cranes breed in Europe, Mongolia, northern China and eastern Siberia.
They winter in swampy meadows, shallow bays, rice paddies and pastures, according to IUCN.
It is one of only four crane species not classified as threatened with extinction on the IUCN Red List. Sandhill, demoiselle cranes and brolga are the others.
It is a class II national protected species in China.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
