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 (Anthropoides virgo). Along with the sandhill (Grus canadensis) and demoiselle cranes and the brolga (Grus 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.[2]

Common crane
Common crane
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Gruidae
Genus: Grus
Species:
G. grus
Binomial name
Grus grus
Distribution of common crane
Yellow : breeding area
Blue : wintering area
green line : route
Synonyms
  • Ardea grus Linnaeus, 1758
  • Grus turfa Portis, 1884

Taxonomy

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.[3] The current genus Grus was erected by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760.[4] Grus is the Latin word for a "crane".[5]

Description

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. [6]

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.

Distribution
Distribution and migration
Flock of common cranes flying over Castilla, Spain, during their winter migration

This species is found in the northern parts of Europe and across the Palearctic to Siberia. Formerly the species was spread as far west as Ireland, but about 200 years ago, it became extinct there. However, it has since started to return to Ireland naturally and there are now plans to help it return to Ireland on a greater scale. The common crane is an uncommon breeder in southern Europe, smaller numbers breeding in Greece, former-Yugoslavia, Romania, the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. Larger breeding populations can be found in Scandinavia, especially Finland and Sweden. The heart of the breeding population for the species is in Russia, however, where possibly up to 100,000 cranes of this species can be found seasonally. It is distributed as a breeder from Ukraine to the Chukchi Peninsula in Russia. The breeding population extends as far south as Manchuria but almost the entire Asian breeding population is restricted to Russia. Approximately 48-50 breeding pairs exist in the UK, with population centres in Somerset and Norfolk.

The species is a long distance migrant predominantly wintering in 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.[7] 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 in southern Europe, including Portugal, Spain and France. Most eastern common cranes 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 is in the northern half of Indian subcontinent, including Pakistan. Minimal wintering also occurs in Burma, Vietnam and Thailand. Lastly, they winter in eastern China, where they are often the most common crane (outnumbering black-necked cranes ten-to-one). Migrating flocks fly in a "V" formation.

It is a rare visitor to Japan and Korea, mostly blown over from the Chinese wintering population, and is a rare vagrant to western North America, where birds are occasionally seen with flocks of migrating sandhill cranes.

Habitat
Common cranes in Osmussaar, Estonia. Wetlands are preferred habitats for the cranes.

In Europe, the common crane predominantly breeds in boreal and taiga forest and mixed forests, from an elevation of sea-level to 2,200 m (7,200 ft). In northern climes, it breeds in treeless moors, on bogs, or on dwarf heather habitats, usually where small lakes or pools are also found. In Sweden, breeders are usually found in small, swampy openings amongst pine forests, while in Germany, marshy wetlands are used. Breeding habitat used in Russia are similar, though they can be found nesting in less likely habitat such as steppe and even semi-desert, so long as water is near. Primarily, the largest number of common cranes are found breeding in wooded swamps, bogs and wetlands and seem to require quiet, peaceful environs with minimal human interference. They occur at low density as breeders even where common, typically ranging from 1 to 5 pairs per 100 km2 (39 sq mi).

In winter, this species moves to flooded areas, shallow sheltered bays, and swampy meadows. During the flightless moulting period there is a need for shallow waters or high reed cover for concealment. Later, after the migration period, the birds winter regularly in open country, often on cultivated lands and sometimes also in savanna-like areas, for example on the Iberian Peninsula.

Behaviour

Diet

The common crane is omnivorous, as are all cranes. It largely eats plant matter, including roots, rhizomes, tubers, stems, leaves, fruits and seeds. They also commonly eat, when available, pond-weeds, heath berries, peas, potatoes, olives, acorns, cedarnuts and pods of peanuts. Notably amongst the berries consumed, the cranberry, is possibly named after the species.

Animal foods become more important during the summer breeding season and may be the primary food source at that time of year, especially while regurgitating to young. Their animal foods are insects, especially dragonflies, and also snails, earthworms, crabs, spiders, millipedes, woodlice, amphibians, rodents, and small birds.

Common cranes may either forage on land or in shallow water, probing around with their bills for any edible organism. Although crops may locally be damaged by the species, they mostly consume waste grain in winter from previously harvested fields and so actually benefit farmers by cleaning fields for use in the following year.[8] As with other cranes, all foraging (as well as drinking and roosting) is done in small groups, which may variously consist of pairs, family groups or winter flocks.

Breeding
The long coiled trachea (TR) penetrating the sternum (S, K, A) produces the trumpeting calls of the crane. L on the left - lungs, LA - larynx, L on the right - tongue.

This species usually lays eggs in May, though seldom will do so earlier or later. Like most cranes, this species displays indefinite monogamous pair bonds. If one mate dies, a crane may attempt to court a new mate the following year. Although a pair may be together for several years, the courtship rituals of the species are enacted by every pair each spring. The dancing of common cranes has complex, social meanings and may occur at almost any time of year. Dancing may include bobs, bows, pirouettes, and stops, as in various crane species. Aggressive displays may include ruffled wing feathers, throwing vegetation in the air and pointing the bare red patch on their heads at each other. Courtship displays begin with a male following the female in a stately, march-like walk. The unison call, consists of the female holding her head up and gradually lowering down as she calls out. The female calls out a high note and then the male follows with a longer scream in a similar posture. Copulation consists of a similar, dramatic display.

Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden, Germany

The nesting territory of common cranes is variable and is based on the local habitat. It can range in size from variously 2 to 500 ha (4.9 to 1,235.5 acres). In common with sandhill cranes (and no other crane species), common cranes "paint" their bodies with mud or decaying vegetation, apparently in order to blend into their nesting environment. The nest is either in or very near shallow water, often with dense shore vegetation nearby, and may be used over several years. The size and placement of the nest varies considerably over the range, with Arctic birds building relatively small nests. In Sweden, an average nest is around 90 cm (35 in) across.

The clutch of the common crane usually contains two eggs, with seldom one laid and, even more rarely, 3 or 4. If a clutch is lost early in incubation, the cranes may be able to lay another one within a couple of weeks. The incubation period is around 30 days and is done primarily by the female but occasionally by both sexes. If humans approach the nest both parents may engage in a distraction display but known ground predators (including domestic dogs (Canis lupus familiaris)) are physically attacked almost immediately.

New hatchlings are generally quite helpless but are able to crawl away from danger within a few hours, can swim soon after hatching and can run with their parents at 24 hours old. Chicks respond to danger by freezing, using their camouflaged brownish down to defend them beyond their fierce parents. Young chicks use their wings to stabilise them while running, while by 9 weeks of age they can fly short distances. The adult birds go through their postbreeding moult while caring for their young, rendering them flightless for about 5 to 6 weeks around the time the young also can't fly yet. According to figures of cranes wintering in Spain, around 48% birds have surviving young by the time they winter and around 18% are leading two young by winter. By the next breeding season, the previous years young often flock together. The age of sexual maturity in wild birds has been estimated at variously from 3 to 6 years of age. It is thought that it is common for this species to live up to 30 or 40 years of age.[9]

Sociality

The common crane is a fairly social bird while not breeding. Flocks of up to 400 birds may be seen flying together during migration. Staging sites, where migrating birds gather to rest and feed in the middle of their migration, may witness thousands of cranes gathering at once. However, the flocks of the species are not stable social units but rather groups that ensure greater safety in numbers and collectively draw each other's attention to ideal foraging and roosting sites.[10] Possibly due to a longer molt, younger and non-breeding cranes are usually the earliest fall migrants and may band together at that time of year. During these migratory flights, common cranes have been known to fly at altitudes of up to 33,000 ft (10,000 m), one of the highest of any species of bird, second only to the Ruppell's Griffin Vulture.[11]

Cranes use a kleptoparasitic strategy to recover from temporary reductions in feeding rate, particularly when the rate is below the threshold of intake necessary for survival.[12] Accumulated intake of common cranes during daytime at a site of stopover and wintering shows a typical anti-sigmoid shape, with greatest increases of intake after dawn and before dusk.[13]

Interspecies interactions

There are few natural predators of adult cranes, although white-tailed eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla), Bonelli's eagles (Aquila fasciata) and golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos) are a potential predatory threat to common cranes of all ages.[14][15][16][17] The crane has been known to counterattack eagles both on the land and in mid-flight, using their bill as a weapon and kicking with their feet. Common cranes were additionally recorded as prey for Eurasian eagle-owls (Bubo bubo) in the Ukok Plateau of Russia.[18] Mammals such as wild boar (Sus scrofa), wolverine (Gulo gulo) and red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) are attacked at the nest, as they are potential predators. When facing off against mammals, cranes jab with their bill, hit with their wings and kick with their feet. The cranes nimbly avoid strikes against themselves by jumping into the air. It is probable that are threatened by a wider range of large mammalian predators as is the black-necked crane but these have not yet been recorded.[19] Herbivorous mammals such as red deer (Cervus elaphus) may also be attacked at the nest, indicating the high aggressiveness of the birds while nesting. The determined attack of a parent crane often assures safety from predators, but occasional losses to predation are inevitable. The carrion crow (Corvus corone) is locally a successful predator of common cranes' eggs, trickily using distraction displays to steal them. Other species of Corvus may also cause some loss of eggs, with common ravens (Corvus corax) also taking some small chicks.[20][21] Common cranes may loosely associate with any other crane in the genus Grus in migration or winter as well as greater white-fronted geese and bean geese.

Status

The global population is 600,000 (2014 estimate) with the vast majority nesting in Russia and Scandinavia. In some areas the breeding population appears to be increasing, such as in Sweden, whereas on the fringes of its range, it is often becoming rare to non-existent. In Ireland, it died out as a breeding species in the 18th century, but a flock of about 30 appeared in County Cork in November 2011, and a smaller flock a year later. It was additionally extirpated as a breeder from Austria around 1900, from Hungary by 1952 and from Spain by 1954. The recovering German breeding population of 8,000 pairs is still also a fraction of the size of the large numbers that once bred in the country. Poland has 15,000 breeding pairs, 50 pairs breed in the Czech Republic and 2009 was the first confirmed breeding in Slovakia.

In Great Britain, the common crane became extirpated in the 17th century, but a tiny population now breeds again in the Norfolk Broads[22] and is slowly increasing and a reintroduction began in 2010 in the Somerset levels. A total of 93 birds were released between 2010 and 2014 as part of the reintroduction effort, and there are now 180 resident birds in the UK. In 2016, a wild crane was born in Wales for the first time in over 400 years.[23]

The main threat to the species, and the primary reason for its decline in the Western Palearctic, comes from habitat loss and degradation, as a result of dam construction, urbanisation, agricultural expansion,[24] and drainage of wetlands. Although it has adapted to human settlement in many areas, nest disturbance, continuing changes in land use, and collision with utility lines are still potential problems. Further threats may include persecution due to crop damage, pesticide poisoning, egg collection, and hunting.[25][26] The common crane is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.

Culture

In Ireland, despite being extinct for over 200 years, the common crane plays a very important part in Irish culture and folklore and so thus recent efforts to encourage it back to Ireland are received with much enthusiasm.

The Kranich Museum in Hessenburg, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Germany, is dedicated to art and folklore related to the common crane.

The common crane is the sacred bird of the god Hephaestus,[27] and it features heavily in the god's iconography.

  • Flock in flight
  • Individual in flight
  • Adults and immatures at Keoladeo National Park, India
  • In flight at Israel ha-Hula
  • Common cranes at Hula Valley in Israel
  • Common crane in flight
  • Juvenile in flight
  • ID composite
  • Large flock of cranes near Bobrowniki, Poland
  • From India

See also

References
  1. BirdLife International 2016. Grus grus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22692146A86219168. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692146A86219168.en. Downloaded on 22 April 2020.
  2. "Common cranes 'here to stay' after recolonising eastern England". The Guardian. Retrieved 25 April 2019.
  3. Linnaeus, C. (1758). Systema Naturæ per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Volume 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii. pp. 141–142.
  4. Brisson, Mathurin Jacques (1760). Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés (in French and Latin). Volume 5. Paris: Jean-Baptiste Bauche. pp. 374–375.
  5. Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. p. 179. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  6. Alonso, J.C.; Bautista, L.M.; Alonso, J.A. (2019). "Sexual size dimorphism in the Common Crane, a monogamous, plumage-monomorphic bird" (PDF). Ornis Fennica. 96: 194–204.
  7. Orellana, J.M.; Bautista, L.M.; Merchán, D.; Causapé, J.; Alonso, J.C. (2020). "Shifts in crane migration phenology associated with climate change in southwestern Europe" (PDF). Avian Conservation and Ecology. 15: 16.
  8. Alonso, J.C.; Alonso, J.A.; Bautista, L.M. (1994). "Carrying capacity of staging areas and facultative migration extension in common cranes". Journal of Applied Ecology. 31 (2): 212–222. doi:10.2307/2404537. JSTOR 2404537.
  9. Burton, Maurice; Burton, Robert (2002). International Wildlife Encyclopedia Set. Marshall Cavendish. pp. 585–. ISBN 978-0-7614-7266-7. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  10. Bautista, L.M.; Alonso, J.C.; Alonso, J.A. (1995). "A field test of ideal free distribution in flock-feeding common cranes". Journal of Animal Ecology. 64 (6): 747–757. doi:10.2307/5853. JSTOR 5853.
  11. "Top 10 Highest Flying Birds In The World - The Mysterious World". 31 March 2015.
  12. Bautista, L.M.; Alonso, J.C.; Alonso, J.A. (1998). "Foraging site displacement in common crane flocks" (PDF). Animal Behaviour. 56 (5): 1237–1243.
  13. Bautista, L.M.; Alonso, J.C. (2013). "Factors influencing daily food intake patterns in birds: a case study with wintering common cranes" (PDF). Condor. 115: 330–339.
  14. Moll, K.H. (1963). "Kranichbeobachtungen aus dem Müritzgebiet" [Crane observations from the Müritz region]. Beiträge zur Vogelkunde (in German). 8: 221–253.
  15. Sulkava, S.; Huhtala, K.; Rajala, P. (January 1984). "Diet and breeding success of the Golden Eagle in Finland 1958–82" (PDF). Annales Zoologici Fennici. Finnish Academy of Sciences, Societas Scientiarum Fennica, Societas pro Fauna et Flora Fennica and Societas Biologica Fennica Vanamo. 21: 283–286.
  16. Muñoz-Pulido, R.; Alonso, J.C.; Alonso, J.A. (1993). "Common Crane (Grus grus) killed by golden eagle ( Aquila chrysaetos)". Vogelwarte. 37: 78–79.
  17. Avilés, J.M.; Sánchez, J.M.; Medina, F.J. (1998). "Response of the crane Grus grus to potential predators in traditional wintering areas". Vogelwarte. 39: 202–203.
  18. Vazhov, S.V.; Karyakin, I.V.; Nikolenko, E.G.; Barashkova, A.N.; Smelansky, I.E.; Tomilenko, A.A.; Bekmansurov, R.H. (2011). "Raptors of the Ukok Plateau, Russia" (PDF). Raptors Conservation (22): 153–175.
  19. Choki, T.; Tshering, J.; Norbu, T.; Stenkewitz, U.; Kamler, J. (2011). "Predation by leopards of Black-necked Cranes Grus nigricollis in Bhutan" (PDF). Forktail. 27: 117–119. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-05-18.
  20. "Grus grus Common Crane". www.eol.org eol.or. Encyclopedia of Life. 16 July 2012. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  21. Leito, A.; Ojaste, I.; Truu, J.; Palo, A. (2005). "Nest site selection of the Eurasian Crane Grus grus in Estonia: an analysis of nest record cards" (PDF). Ornis Fennica. 82 (2): 44–54.
  22. "Common crane". Norfolk Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
  23. "Where are we at? | The Great Crane Project". www.thegreatcraneproject.org.uk. Retrieved 2021-02-06.
  24. Alonso, J.C.; Alonso, J.A.; Bautista, L.M. (2018). "A review of the crane-agriculture conflict at Gallocanta Lake" (PDF). Cranes and Agriculture: A Global Guide for Sharing the Landscape: 272–279.
  25. "Species factsheet: Grus grus". www.birdlife.org. BirdLife International. 2015. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  26. del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J., eds. (1996). Handbook of the Birds of the World. 3. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. p. 88. ISBN 84-87334-20-2.
  27. Atsma, Aaron J. "Hephaistos (Sacred Birds & Animals)". www.theoi.com.
  28. "The Great Crane Project: About the project". The RSPB. Retrieved 19 December 2012.
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