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Common crane
The common crane (Grus grus), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (Grus virgo) and the Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) that only are regular in the far eastern part of the continent. Along with the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), demoiselle crane and the brolga (Antigone rubicunda), it is one of only four crane species not currently classified as threatened with extinction or conservation dependent on the species level. Despite the species' large numbers, local extinctions and extirpations have taken place in part of its range, and an ongoing reintroduction project is underway in the United Kingdom.
The first formal description of the common crane was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Ardea grus. The current genus Grus was erected by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. Grus is the Latin word for a "crane". The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The common crane is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane. It is 100–130 cm (39–51 in) long with a 180–240 cm (71–94 in) wingspan. The body weight can range from 3 to 6.1 kg (6.6 to 13.4 lb), with the nominate subspecies averaging around 5.4 kg (12 lb) and the eastern subspecies (G. g. lilfordi) averaging 4.6 kg (10 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 50.7–60.8 cm (20.0–23.9 in) long, the tarsus is 20.1–25.2 cm (7.9–9.9 in) and the exposed culmen is 9.5–11.6 cm (3.7–4.6 in).
Males are slightly heavier and larger than females, with weight showing the largest sexual size dimorphism, followed by wing, central toe, and head length in adults and juveniles.
This species is slate-grey overall. The forehead and lores are blackish with a bare red crown and a white streak extending from behind the eyes to the upper back. The overall colour is darkest on the back and rump and palest on the breast and wings. The primaries, the tips of secondaries, the alula, the tip of the tail, and the edges of upper tail coverts are all black and the greater coverts droop into explosive plumes. This combination of colouration ultimately distinguishes it from similar species in Asia, like the hooded (G. monacha) and black-necked cranes (G. nigricollis). The juvenile has yellowish-brown tips to its body feathers and lacks the drooping wing feathers and the bright neck pattern of the adult, and has a fully feathered crown. Every two years, before migration, the adult common crane undergoes a complete moult, remaining flightless for six weeks, until the new feathers grow.
It has a loud trumpeting call, given in flight and display. The call is piercing and can be heard from a considerable distance. It has a dancing display, leaping with wings uplifted, described in detail below.
The common crane breeds in Europe and across the Palearctic to Siberia. By far the largest breeding populations can be found in Russia, Finland and Sweden. It is a rare breeder in southern and western Europe, with larger numbers breeding in the central and eastern parts of the continent. It has reappeared in several western European countries where it had been extirpated as a breeding bird decades or even centuries ago, including the United Kingdom and, since 2021, the Republic of Ireland. In Russia, it breeds as far east at the Chukchi Peninsula. In Asia, the breeding range of the common crane extends as far south as northern China, Turkey and the Caucasus region.
The species is a migrant and common cranes that breed in Europe predominantly winter in Portugal, Spain and northern Africa. Autumn migration is from August to October in the breeding areas, but from late October to early December at the wintering sites. Spring migration starts in February at wintering sites up to early March, but from March through May at the breeding areas. Migration phenology of common cranes is changing due to climate change. Hydraulic models can be used to estimate the number of days that unmarked cranes remain in a given area during the spring migration. These models are developed using data from crane censuses conducted at spring migration stopover sites. Important staging areas occur anywhere from Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany to China (with a large one around the Caspian Sea) and many thousand cranes can be seen in one day in the Autumn. Some birds winter elsewhere in southern Europe, including Portugal and France. During mild winters, some may stay near their breeding locations year-round, even in northwestern Europe. Common cranes that breed in far eastern Europe, including European Russia, winter in the river valleys of Sudan, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Eritrea with smaller numbers in Turkey, northern Israel, Iraq and parts of Iran. The third major wintering region, primarily used by those breeding in central Russia, is in the northern half of the Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan. Minimal wintering also occurs in Burma, Vietnam and Thailand. Lastly, the easternmost breeders winter in eastern China, where they are often the most common crane. Migrating flocks fly in a "V" formation.
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Common crane
The common crane (Grus grus), also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane (Grus virgo) and the Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) that only are regular in the far eastern part of the continent. Along with the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), demoiselle crane and the brolga (Antigone rubicunda), it is one of only four crane species not currently classified as threatened with extinction or conservation dependent on the species level. Despite the species' large numbers, local extinctions and extirpations have taken place in part of its range, and an ongoing reintroduction project is underway in the United Kingdom.
The first formal description of the common crane was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his Systema Naturae under the binomial name Ardea grus. The current genus Grus was erected by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760. Grus is the Latin word for a "crane". The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.
The common crane is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane. It is 100–130 cm (39–51 in) long with a 180–240 cm (71–94 in) wingspan. The body weight can range from 3 to 6.1 kg (6.6 to 13.4 lb), with the nominate subspecies averaging around 5.4 kg (12 lb) and the eastern subspecies (G. g. lilfordi) averaging 4.6 kg (10 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord is 50.7–60.8 cm (20.0–23.9 in) long, the tarsus is 20.1–25.2 cm (7.9–9.9 in) and the exposed culmen is 9.5–11.6 cm (3.7–4.6 in).
Males are slightly heavier and larger than females, with weight showing the largest sexual size dimorphism, followed by wing, central toe, and head length in adults and juveniles.
This species is slate-grey overall. The forehead and lores are blackish with a bare red crown and a white streak extending from behind the eyes to the upper back. The overall colour is darkest on the back and rump and palest on the breast and wings. The primaries, the tips of secondaries, the alula, the tip of the tail, and the edges of upper tail coverts are all black and the greater coverts droop into explosive plumes. This combination of colouration ultimately distinguishes it from similar species in Asia, like the hooded (G. monacha) and black-necked cranes (G. nigricollis). The juvenile has yellowish-brown tips to its body feathers and lacks the drooping wing feathers and the bright neck pattern of the adult, and has a fully feathered crown. Every two years, before migration, the adult common crane undergoes a complete moult, remaining flightless for six weeks, until the new feathers grow.
It has a loud trumpeting call, given in flight and display. The call is piercing and can be heard from a considerable distance. It has a dancing display, leaping with wings uplifted, described in detail below.
The common crane breeds in Europe and across the Palearctic to Siberia. By far the largest breeding populations can be found in Russia, Finland and Sweden. It is a rare breeder in southern and western Europe, with larger numbers breeding in the central and eastern parts of the continent. It has reappeared in several western European countries where it had been extirpated as a breeding bird decades or even centuries ago, including the United Kingdom and, since 2021, the Republic of Ireland. In Russia, it breeds as far east at the Chukchi Peninsula. In Asia, the breeding range of the common crane extends as far south as northern China, Turkey and the Caucasus region.
The species is a migrant and common cranes that breed in Europe predominantly winter in Portugal, Spain and northern Africa. Autumn migration is from August to October in the breeding areas, but from late October to early December at the wintering sites. Spring migration starts in February at wintering sites up to early March, but from March through May at the breeding areas. Migration phenology of common cranes is changing due to climate change. Hydraulic models can be used to estimate the number of days that unmarked cranes remain in a given area during the spring migration. These models are developed using data from crane censuses conducted at spring migration stopover sites. Important staging areas occur anywhere from Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany to China (with a large one around the Caspian Sea) and many thousand cranes can be seen in one day in the Autumn. Some birds winter elsewhere in southern Europe, including Portugal and France. During mild winters, some may stay near their breeding locations year-round, even in northwestern Europe. Common cranes that breed in far eastern Europe, including European Russia, winter in the river valleys of Sudan, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Eritrea with smaller numbers in Turkey, northern Israel, Iraq and parts of Iran. The third major wintering region, primarily used by those breeding in central Russia, is in the northern half of the Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan. Minimal wintering also occurs in Burma, Vietnam and Thailand. Lastly, the easternmost breeders winter in eastern China, where they are often the most common crane. Migrating flocks fly in a "V" formation.