Scientific Name: Anthropooedes paradisea

Common Names:

English: Blue Crane, also known as the Stanley Crane and the Paradise Crane

Afrikaans: Bloukraanvoël

Xhosa: Indwe

Zulu: iNdwa

Blue Cranes are the national bird of South Africa . One of the smaller crane species, the Blue Cranes plumage is silvery bluish gray becoming darker on the upper neck and the lower half of the head and nape. The feathers of the crown and forehead are light grayish white, while the cheeks, ear coverts and nape are dark ashy gray, which they raise (or fluff) during threat displays, producing a distinctive cobra-like look. Blue Cranes have short bills and black legs. The primary feathers are black or slate gray. The tertial feathers of the wing are long, dark and dangle nearly to the ground, giving this crane an elegant appearance.

Habitat: The Blue Crane is a bird of dry grasslands and other upland habitats. Where shallow wetlands are available, Blue Cranes will roost and feed in them.

Distribution: Blue Crane are endemic to southern Africa, with more than 99% of the population occurring within South Africa . A small disjunct breeding population of approximately 60 individuals exists in northern Namibia , in and around Etosha Pan.

Height: 117 cm, Weight: 5.1 kg

Trend: Declining / Population: 20,000 - 21,000 in South Africa and 60 in Namibia

Diet Description: All cranes are omnivorous. Principal foods of the Blue Crane include the seeds of sedges and grasses, waste grains, insects, and small vertebrates.

Socialisation: Mated pairs of cranes engage in unison calling, which is a complex and extended series of coordinated calls. The birds stand in a specific posture, usually with their heads thrown back and beaks skyward during the display. The male always lifts up his wings over his back during the unison call while the female keeps her wings folded at her sides. In Blue Cranes the male initiates the display and utters one call for each female call. All cranes engage in dancing, which includes various behaviors such as bowing, jumping, running, stick or grass tossing and wing flapping. Dancing can occur at any age and is commonly associated with courtship, however it is generally believed to be a normal part of motor development for crane s and can serve to thwart aggression, relieve tension and strengthen the pair bond.

Reproduction: Preferred nesting sites of Blue Cranes include secluded grasslands in higher elevations where eggs are laid amid the grass or on the bare ground. In agricultural areas they nest in pastures, in fallow fields and in crop fields when stubble becomes available after harvest. Females usually lay two eggs and incubation (by both sexes) lasts 30-33 days. The male takes the primary role in defending the nest against possible danger. Chicks fledge (first flight) between 3-5 months of age.

Identification: One of the smaller crane species, Blue Cranes are four feet tall and weigh about eleven pounds. Body plumage is silvery bluish gray becoming darker on the upper neck and the lower half of he head and nape. Blue Cranes are one of two species of cranes that do not have bare, red skin on their heads. The feathers of the crown and forehead are light grayish white, while the cheeks, ear coverts and nape are dark ashy gray, which they raise (or fluff) during threat displays, producing a distinctive cobra-like look. Blue Cranes have short bills and black legs. The primary feathers are black or slate gray. The tertial feathers of the wing are long, dark and dangle nearly to the ground, giving this crane an elegant appearance. Males and females are virtually indistinguishable. Juveniles are slightly lighter blue gray than adults and lack the long wing tertials

Range: Blue Cranes, the national bird of South Africa , are endemic (only found in a certain region) to southern Africa, with more than 99% of the population occurring within South Africa . The Blue Crane is the national bird of South Africa . A small disjunct breeding population of approximately 60 individuals exists in northern Namibia , in and around Etosha Pan.

Habitat & Ecology: The Blue Crane is a bird of dry grasslands and other upland habitats. Where shallow wetlands are available, Blue Cranes will roost and feed in them. Mated pairs of cranes, including Blue Cranes, engage in unison calling, which is a complex and extended series of coordinated calls. The birds stand in a specific posture, usually with their heads thrown back and beaks skyward during the display. The male always lifts up his wings over his back during the unison call while the female keeps her wings folded at her sides. In Blue Cranes the male initiates the display and utters one call for each female call. All cranes engage in dancing, which includes various behaviors such as bowing, jumping, running, stick or grass tossing, and wing flapping. Dancing can occur at any age and is commonly associated with courtship, however, it is generally believed to be a normal part of motor development for crane s and can serve to thwart aggression, relieve tension, and strengthen the pair bond.

Preferred nesting sites of Blue Cranes include secluded grasslands in higher elevations where eggs are laid amid the grass or on the bare ground. In agricultural areas, they nest in pastures, in fallow fields, and in crop fields when stubble becomes available after harvest. Females usually lay two eggs and incubation (by both sexes) lasts 30-33 days. The male takes the primary role in defending the nest against possible danger. Chicks fledge (first flight) between 3-5 months of age.

Diet: All cranes are omnivorous. Principal foods of the Blue Crane include the seeds of sedges and grasses, waste grains, insects and small vertebrates.

Threats: Poisoning, habitat alteration and power line collisions are all significant threats to Blue Cranes. Poisoning occurs both intentionally and inadvertently. Loss of grasslands to agriculture, urbanization/ecotourism developments and commercial afforestation of South Africa’s natural grasslands are major threats to Blue Crane habitat. Grasslands are being converted to pine and eucalyptus plantations for pulp and timber production. Such plantings drastically alter the entire ecosystem; grassland vegetation is removed and water runoff and groundwater flow is greatly altered, leading to the desiccation of wetlands. Blue Cranes are especially vulnerable to collision with powerlines near roosting and breeding sites.

Fun Fact: Both the Xhosa and Zulu tribes in Africa revere the Blue Crane. Zulu royalty were the only ones allowed to wear Blue Crane feathers and Xhosa warriors were only allowed to wear Blue Crane feathers into battle.

CROWNED CRANE

Scientific Name: Balearica regulorum

Subspecies: Balearica regulorum gibbericeps (East African)

Balearica regulorum regulorum (South African)

Height: ~106 cm, 3 ft.

Weight: ~3.5 kg, 8 lbs.

Population: ~58,000-77,000

Trend: Balearica regulorum gibbericeps - declining
Balearica regulorum regulorum - stable

Identification: The body of the Grey Crowned Crane is mainly gray. The wings are predominantly white, but contain feathers with colors ranging from white to brown to gold. The head is topped with a crown of stiff golden feathers. Cheek patches are white and a red gular sack is present under the chin. The gular sack is similar to a wattle, except that it can be inflated. Legs and toes are black. The bill is short and dark gray. All crowned cranes have the ability to perch because their long hind toe (hallux) allows for grasping. The subspecies are most easily distinguished by their facial features. The East African crowned crane has a larger area of bare red skin above the white cheek patch than does the South African crowned crane. Males and females are virtually indistinguishable, although males tend to be slightly larger.

Juveniles are generally grayish, the upper body feathers are edged with rufous, and the lower body feathers are sandy buff. The nape is brown, the face is feathered and buffy and the crown is spiky and golden buff.

Range: The range of the Grey Crowned Crane in eastern and southern Africa stretches from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda , and Kenya to southeastern South Africa . They are non-migratory, but undertake variable local and seasonal movements, and are most abundant in Uganda , Kenya , and Tanzania . The South African subspecies occurs in Angola , Namibia , Botswana , Zimbabwe , and South Africa . The East African subspecies occurs in Uganda , Kenya , Tanzania , Burundi , Rwanda , Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Zimbabwe , and northern Mozambique , and comprises the majority of the total population. The Grey Crowned Crane is the national bird of Uganda .

Habitat & Ecology: Grey Crowned Cranes require mixed wetland-grassland habitats. They typically nest within or on the edges of wetlands, while foraging in wetlands, nearby grasslands and croplands. Grey Crowned Cranes begin their unison display in varied ways. The main vocalization is a booming call where the crane will inflate the gular sac underneath its chin and push the air out. This calling is done with the head laid against the top of the neck and then tilted back. The crane also produces peculiar honks that are quite different from the loud, bugling calls of other crane species that have much longer coiled tracheas. All cranes engage in dancing, which includes various behaviors such as head pumping, bowing, jumping, running, stick or grass tossing and wing flapping. Dancing can occur at any age and is commonly associated with courtship, however, it is generally believed to be a normal part of motor development for cranes and can serve to thwart aggression, relieve tension, and strengthen the pair bond.

Nesting usually occurs in wetlands where the vegetation is of a significant height to conceal the cranes on their nests. Nests consist of uprooted grasses and sedges piled and flattened into a circular platform. Grey Crowned Cranes have the largest average clutch size (2-5) of any cranes. Clutch size can vary with altitude. Incubation is performed by both sexes and lasts 28-31 days. While rearing chicks, adult birds will sometimes hide their young in wetlands in the evening, and then fly to roost in trees. Chicks fledge (first flight) at 56-100 days.

Diet: All cranes are omnivorous. Principal foods of the Grey Crowned Crane include tips of grasses, seeds, insects, other invertebrates and small vertebrates. They also forage in croplands for groundnuts, soybeans, maize and millet. The Grey Crowned Crane’s generalist feeding strategy allows the species to adapt to human settlement. Most Grey Crowned Cranes in East Africa live in human modified landscapes.

Threats: Although the species remains common over much of its historic range, it faces widespread and increasing threats to its habitat, particularly in the species stronghold of east Africa due to drainage, livestock overgrazing and heavy pesticide applications. Other threats include hunting and live-trapping.

Fun Fact: The crowned crane is the most primitive of the living Gruidae. Primitive species of crowned cranes date back in the fossil record to the Eocene period. Archaeologists discovered that at least eleven species of crowned cranes once existed in Europe and North America . Because crowned cranes are not cold hardy, it is believed they died out in these areas as the earth cooled and only survived in warmer Africa .

This is the only crane to perch in trees.

WATTLED CRANE

Scientific Name: Bugeranus carunculatus

Height: 172 cm, 6 ft.

Weight: 7.8 kg, 14 lbs.

Population: ~8,000

Trend: Declining

Identification: Wattled Cranes stand six feet tall and weigh fourteen pounds. The back and wings are ashy gray. The feathered portion of the head is dark slaty gray above the eyes and on the crown, but is otherwise white, including the wattles, which are almost fully feathered and hang down from under the upper throat. The breast, primaries, secondaries and tail coverts are black. The secondaries are long and nearly reach the ground. The upper breast and neck are white all the way to the face. The skin in front of the eye extending to the base of the beak and tip of the wattles is red and bare of feathers and covered by small round wart-like bumps. Wattled Cranes have long bills and black legs and toes. Males and females are virtually indistinguishable although males tend to be slightly larger.

Juveniles have tawny body plumage, lack the bare skin on the face and have less prominent wattles.

Range: The Wattled Crane occurs in eleven sub-Saharan countries in Africa, including an isolated population in the highlands of Ethiopia . More than half of the world’s Wattled Cranes occur in Zambia . The single largest concentration occurs in the Okavango Delta of Botswana. Wattled Cranes are thought to have historically ranged over a much larger area including coastal West Africa .

Diet: All cranes are omnivorous. The principal food of the Wattled Crane is aquatic vegetation, including the tubers and rhizomes of submerged sedges and water lilies. In particular, Wattled Cranes depend heavily on the sedge Eleocharis spp. In dryer upland habitats, Wattled Cranes forage for grain, grass seeds, insects and they make use of agricultural fields when convenient.

Threats: Destruction, alteration and degradation of wetland habitats constitute the most significant threats to the Wattled Crane. Hydroelectric power projects and other water development have caused fundamental changes in the species expansive floodplain habitats and their most important food source Eleocharis spp. Human and livestock disturbance, powerline collisions, mass aerial spraying tsetse flies and illegal collection of eggs, chicks and adults for food are also significant threats to Wattled Cranes throughout their range.

Fun Fact: In Ethiopia, Wattled Cranes take advantage of beetle larvae and other invertebrates that occur in the spoil heaps created by the giant molerat!

{yoogallery src=[/images/stories/tenikwa-wildlife-blue-cranes] width=[70] height=[50] title=[Wildlife Plettenberg Bay] spotlight=[1] thumb=[plain] order=[asc]}

{yoogallery src=[/images/stories/tenikwa-wildlife-blue-cranes/port] width=[70] height=[50] title=[Wildlife Plettenberg Bay] spotlight=[1] thumb=[plain] order=[asc]}