Bird of the Week: Grey Crowned Crane

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Our highlighted Bird of the Week is a smaller species of crane, but what it lacks in scale it makes up for in feathery flourishes.

Name:

Common: Grey Crowned Crane

Scientific: Balearica regulorum

Where It Is Found:

The crowned cranes only occur in Africa. This species is found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Uganda, Kenya, and further southeastern areas of the continent. It’s not a migratory species, but populations might exhibit variable movements, but it’s abundant in the East Africa countries in its range.

The grey crowned crane is listed as “Endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

Relationships:

The grey crowned crane is very closely related to the black crowned crane, which has – and don’t be shocked by this – a black body, rather than grey.

This is one of those times when a descriptive bird name is, indeed, descriptive! These aren’t always as helpful as one might initially think… (did you hear me, red-bellied woodpecker?)

These two crowned cranes are small amongst their crane brethren, and they’re the only members of their Genus. The other “true” cranes lack the fancy golden crown.

Distinguishing Features:

Cranes are always tall birds, ranging from about 3′ to upwards of 6′ tall! They’re statuesque specimens with floofy rumps that really stick out. I mean that literally, they’ve got some prominent rump. They’re all really beautiful birds, usually white or grey-bodied with prominent red pops of color on the head or face.

The grey crowned crane has a grey body, flashy white wing primaries (along with brown and gold), and black legs. Its eyes are a striking blue, which contrast with a bright white cheek-patch and a red gular sac.

Oh, then there is the crown. The very thing that described this bird and its sister species, their heads are covered with modified golden feathers that are easily identifiable and certainly create a regal appearance.

Likes:

These birds mostly feed on grains, invertebrates, and even small vertebrates. Their diet isn’t nearly as exciting as their overly adorned appearance.

However, in true crane fashion, they are true performers in the mating season. They dance, generally doing their darnedest to impress a potential partner. They bob their heads and repeatedly throw their wings up, flashing those pretty white/brown/gold feathers – proclaiming their reproduction-focused affection to the world as well as the intended recipient. And, let’s face it, what red-blooded egg-producing female wouldn’t be convinced to mate right then and there? Damn, you sexy bird.

Note: Actual crane females regularly fail to show interest in flailing copulation-obsessed males, which is proof that I would make a really lousy crane.

A Note About Names:

It’s grey, ok? Not “gray”. Generally, the spelling of this word doesn’t matter, but it’s just plain odd that we spell its standardized common name differently than everywhere else in the English-speaking birding world. So I’m defying the AOC and ebird in this tiny little detail. It’s not an American bird, why bother changing its name to our own spelling conventions?

Dear Americans: You can’t make the entire world bow to your whim just because you’re hooked on phonics.

Note: Yes, I know I’m an American. But it’s still “grey”, and I also like to go to the “theatre”. And I apologize for my sense of “humour”.

To finish with an actually useful tidbit about this bird’s name: an alternate name for this species is the Crested Crane. Crested Crane refers specifically to the subspecies found in East Africa, including Uganda – where it is the national bird!