Crane gray: photo, lifestyle

This article will tell you about one of the most interesting and large birds. It's a crane. In total, 7 species of such birds live in Russia. Of these, the most common and numerous is the common gray crane.

Habitat

Gray cranes are nesting in western and northern Europe, in many parts of Russia (up to the Kolyma and Transbaikalia river basins), in China and in Northern Mongolia. Also they are seen a little in Altai, in Tibet and Turkey. In winter, cranes, like most birds, usually migrate south: to East and North Africa, to Spain, France, to the Middle East, to India and to China (south and east).

Places of their nesting: in the swampy terrain and in floodplains of rivers (swampy). In the case of a shortage of wetlands, they can settle near agricultural land. Usually, for wintering cranes choose more elevated places, fairly densely covered with grassy vegetation.

Gray Crane: photo, description

Males and females practically do not differ from each other in appearance. The predominant color of the color of adults is gray. Only a few black feathers are colored: feathering (primary, secondary, tertiary and covering), as well as tail feathers (their vertices).

On the crown of the head , feathers are practically absent, and a patch of bare skin on it is reddish. Always with a red "cap" a gray crane walks on its head (the photo clearly demonstrates this).

The lower part of the neck, its sides, part of the head (back) and chin have a brownish-black color. On the neck and head of the bird, a white stripe stands out sharply, which extends along the sides of the head to the posterior margin, and also on the outside of the neck.

This is a fairly large bird: height - 115 cm, and the wings have a span of up to 2 meters. Weight of males reaches 6 kg, and females - slightly less (5,900 kg). The coloring of the plumage allows the bird to hide in the forests from the enemies. The beak reaches a size of up to 30 cm. Gray and red tail feathers have a young gray crane. The extremities of the bird are dark.

Reproduction

Crane gray - a monogamous bird. She keeps her mate for life. Only if the female or male dies, then the surviving bird finds another companion of life. And another pair can be formed in the case of unsuccessful long attempts to have offspring.

From April to July, the breeding season lasts. As a rule, the pair is formed before the commencement of the flight to the place of future nesting. After arriving at the place, the female and male arrange the most original ritual dances. They represent bouncing, flapping wings and an important prancing gait.

Over the water or near it, a piece of land (relatively dry) is chosen, necessarily among dense vegetation (thickets of reeds, etc.). This is the place for the nest. The male and the female announce the choice of a suitable place in a drawn-out voice. So they mark their territory.

The nest itself is large (more than 1 m in diameter). It is built from the most diverse material. Usually the female lays 2 eggs. The incubation period lasts up to 31 days. Both male and female hatch eggs. Soon after birth, the chicks can leave the parent's nest. Their full plumage comes in about 70 days.

Lifestyle, features

Crane gray, as already noted above, on arrival at home begins to dance in a peculiar way. Do it either alone or in a pack. During this period the birds are very cautious, therefore it is possible to observe all this only from afar. Cranes on the nests usually do not form mass gatherings, that is, pairs nest far apart.

Nest female and male build very quickly and carelessly. As a result, it is just a bunch of brushwood collected from nearby territories. Inside the nest is a tray lined with dry grass. As a rule, older birds occupy their nests (last year's). Such a nest can serve a couple of cranes for several years, just every year the birds update it a little.

Distribution of cranes in Russia

Crane gray in Russia is represented by two subspecies - western and eastern. They differ little from each other. The boundaries of their distribution, as well as their subspecific independence, are relatively poorly understood in the country today. Approximately one can say that the boundary that separates these two subspecies extends along the Ural ridge. Western subspecies live in European Russia, and eastern in Asian.

And it is known that for wintering the crane gray from the European part of the country flies to Africa (Morocco, Egypt, etc.), and from the eastern (inhabiting mainly in Siberia) - to the north of India or to China. A small part of the gray cranes overwinter in the Transcaucasus.

In conclusion about the most interesting

At the very beginning of the mating season the gray cranes cover their feathers with dirt and mud. This allows them to mask and hide from predators, making them less noticeable during periods of hatching and breeding their chicks.

Crane gray, like other species, begins its flight from a smooth takeoff to the wind, accelerating and opening huge wings just before take-off.

Quite omnivorous are the gray cranes: they feed on plants (tubers, leaves, stems, acorns, berries, etc.), invertebrates (worms and insects), vertebrates (snakes, frogs, rodents and fish). Also, a crane can feed itself and grain, while even creating a threat to the harvest.