Species Fact Profile: Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum)

Grey-Crowned Crane

Balearica regulorum (Bennett, 1834)

Range: Eastern and Southern Africa

Habitat: Grasslands, Wetlands

Diet: Insects, Earthworms, Lizards, Seeds

Social Grouping: Pairs, Small Flocks

Reproduction: Monogamous (may be for life), breed once yearly, determined by rains.  Courtship consists of nuptial dances (spreading wings, bobbing heads, jumping).  Nest in or near water on mounds of vegetation.  2-4 eggs incubated for 28-30 days.  Chicks are precocial, fledge at 2-3 months, mature at 3 years

Lifespan: 20-25 Years

Conservation Status: IUCN Endangered, CITES Appendix II

• Sexes look alike.  Most of the plumage is pearly-grey; wings are predominately white.  White cheek patches with a reddish tint, lined with black.  Small inflatable red gular sac on the chin.  Beak is short and red.  Tail and legs are black.  Most distinguishing trait is the large crown of stiff yellow, black-tipped feathers, which is brown in juveniles.  Juveniles also have brown iris instead of blue-gray and a paler colored gular sac.  Adult plumage is achieved at 12 months old
• Weigh 3-4 kilograms.  Stand 100-110 centimeters tall.  Wingspan 180-200 centimeters.  Males are slightly larger than females.
• Non-migratory, but will make extensive movements in search of food and water sources, especially during the dry season.  Home range size is 0.85 to 3.85 square kilometers.  They are not territorial except with their nest sites.  Primarily found in pairs, but may form flocks of over 150 birds.   No dominance hierarchy
• One of only two crane species which will roost in trees (the other being the black crowned crane Balearica pavonina ), which they are capable of doing because of their long hind toes.  It has been suggested that this is an ancestral trait of the crane family
• Vocalization described as a low, melancholy “oouuw.”  Cranes call to their chicks and to their mates with a low purring sound
• Observed following ungulates and feeding on flushed insects, or stamping the ground to scare up insects.  Also feed in newly plowed fields
• Two subspecies – the East African grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum gibbericeps) and the South African grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum regulorum).  The East African subspecies has redder cheek patches.  Sometimes has been treated as one species with the black crowned crane, forming one species with four subspecies
• National bird of Uganda, appearing on the flag and coat of arms
• Major cause of decline is loss of wetland habitat due to draining and pollution (also overgrazing by cattle), as well as unintentional poisoning from pesticides used on crops.  Sometimes persecuted by farmers angered by the cranes foraging in their fields and uprooting seedlings, feeding on corn.  Also collide with power lines.  Some illegal trade in live birds and their eggs