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White-naped Crane
Grus vipio
39.9612, -82.9988
Field Notes
Description:
The White-naped Crane (Grus vipio) is a bird of the crane family. It is a large bird, 112–125 cm (44–49 in) long, approximately 130 cm (4 ft) tall and weighing about 5.6 kg (12 lbs) with pinkish legs, grey and white striped neck, and a red face patch.
The White-naped Crane breeds in northeastern Mongolia, northeastern China, and adjacent areas of southeastern Russia where a program at Khinganski Nature Reserve raises eggs provided from U.S. zoos to bolster the species. Different groups of the birds migrate to winter near the Yangtze River, the DMZ in Korea and on Kyūshū in Japan. They also reach Kazakhstan and Taiwan. Only about 4,900 and 5,400 individuals remain in the wild.
Its diet consists mainly of insects, seeds, roots, plants and small animals.
Due to ongoing habitat loss and overhunting in some areas, the White-naped Crane is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. It is listed on Appendix I and II of CITES.
Habitat:
The White-naped Crane frequents several types of wetland habitats, and breeds in open wetlands along large river valleys, along lake edges, in grassy marshes and on islands in the middle of the steppe lakes where there are reedbeds.
They feed in croplands close to the breeding areas.
During the migration and winter, they frequent fallow fields and wetlands such as brackish marshes, ricefields and mudflats in estuaries.
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