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Common Crane

Grus grusOrder: GRUIFORMES Family: Cranes (Gruidae)
Codes: Common Name: COMC Scientific Name: GRUGRU ITIS Taxonomic No.: 176183
Least Concern
 
Common Crane
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Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
Jelly Jar Jelly Feeder
The orange "blossum" replaces the lid of a jelly jar.
Attract Orioles with Fruit
Sliced orange secures easily to the center of the ring. Low cost.
Attract with Nectar
Hex shaped nectar feeds several Orioles. Nectar kept in fridge.
Charm and Attraction
Lovely copper umbrella keeps fruit cool and looks great.

Overview

Common Crane: Large wading bird, gray overall with a black face, chin, throat and neck; shows a patch of bare red skin on crown. Broad white stripe extends from behind eye down back of neck. Black flight feathers and short tail are visible in flight. Bill is dull yellow and legs and feet are black.

Range and Habitat

Common Crane: This species breeds in northern parts of Europe and western Asia. It is a long distance migrant wintering in Africa and southern Europe. In North America it appears as an accidental vagrant to central Alaska, western Canada, the Great Plains, and the Midwest. Numbers in Europe have declined over the last 300 years because of disturbance, shooting and drainage. Common Crane breeds on forest clearings, bogs and other wetlands, fields and meadows with ponds. In migration stays on open arable land or grassland with scattered trees.

Topo Map: Long-legged-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

No data available.

Interesting Facts

 The Common Crane is also known as the Eurasian Crane,

 It has a dancing display, leaping with wings uplifted.

 In Great Britain it became extinct in the 17th century, but a tiny population now breeds again in the Norfolk Broads and is slowly increasing. 

 A group of cranes has many collective nouns, including a "construction", "dance", "sedge", "siege", and "swoop" of cranes.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

Creavtive Skulls

Splitbar
Range Map for Common Crane

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Family
Species Grus grus
Length44 - 51 Inches
Wingspan85 Inches

Common Crane

Common Crane: Large wading bird, gray overall with a black face, chin, throat and neck; shows a patch of bare red skin on crown. Broad white stripe extends from behind eye down back of neck. Black flight feathers and short tail are visible in flight. Bill is dull yellow and legs and feet are black.

● Song: No data available.

● Foraging & Feeding: Common Crane: Feed preferably on seeds, berries, grain, and young shoots. Frequentlyeats insects and mollusks, occasionally takes small mammals, fish, and frogs. Chooses dry places to look for food.

● Breeding & nesting: Common Crane: Two brownish or olive eggs spotted with red brown are laid in a grass nest placed in shallow water, set on reeds, or in a thicket. Sometimes the same nest is used for several years. Incubation takes about 30 days and is carried by both sexes in turn - female incubates at night and male during the day. Both parents feed the young. These birds have one brood per year.

● Similar species: Common Crane: Sandhill Crane has gray body, red bare skin on crown, forehead and lores, lacks black-and-white pattern on head and neck, and only primary feathers on wings are black. Juveniles are very similar but Common Crane has black in the entire trailing edge of the wing.

Flight Pattern

Straight flight with deep even wing beats, slow downstroke, and quick upstroke., Flies in V formation during migration.
Common Crane Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Common Crane: This species breeds in northern parts of Europe and western Asia. It is a long distance migrant wintering in Africa and southern Europe. In North America it appears as an accidental vagrant to central Alaska, western Canada, the Great Plains, and the Midwest. Numbers in Europe have declined over the last 300 years because of disturbance, shooting and drainage. Common Crane breeds on forest clearings, bogs and other wetlands, fields and meadows with ponds. In migration stays on open arable land or grassland with scattered trees.
BreedingMonogamous
PopulationAccidental in North America
MigrationMigratory
Weight193.6 Ounces
Long-legged-like BodyX
ChinX
The area of the face just below the bill.
CrownX
The crown is the top part of the birds head.
FaceX
The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.
Flight feathersX
Located on the wing, and collectively called remiges (singular, remex). The long stiff feathers are subdivided into two major groups based on the location and are called primaries and secondaries.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

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ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

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Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX