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The Gray Crane (Latin name “grus grus”, English - “grane”) is a beautiful and interesting bird. She often becomes a hero of folk tales, appearing before the reader like an intelligent animal. In many countries, cranes are revered as sacred animals.
Type classification
- Kingdom: animals.
- Type: chord.
- Class: Birds.
- Detachment: crane-like.
- Family: cranes.
- Genus: cranes.
- Appearance: gray crane.
Description
The female and the male have no fundamental differences in appearance. The height is about 115 cm, the length of the beak is 25-30 cm. The weight of the male individual can reach 6 kg, the female - a little less. Wingspan is about 2 meters.
The color is gray, only black or white feathers (on the sides and neck) are visible in some places. Paws black. White plumage on cheeks. On temechke feathers are completely absent.Young birds have gray feathers with red hues. The main distinguishing feature is the red feathers on the head, similar to a cap.
Besides the fact that the gray plumage looks very beautiful, this color masks well from predators.
Breeding
Birds should choose a nesting site. They love the area near the water or thickets near water. The male and female are looking for the right place, and after choosing they give a signal with a long cry. The same exclamation cranes warn of danger.
In May, the female lays eggs (from 1 to 3). Hatching takes 31 days. Female and male follow each other in hatching eggs. After hatching chicks, parents equally care about them. Initially, the chicks are covered with fluff, and feathers on the wings and torso appear only at 3 months of life.
When the chicks are strong, adult birds teach them to fly and search for food.Already in July, they are able to fly independently. At the end of the month, the family leaves the nest and again leads a migrant lifestyle. In early autumn, cranes gather in flocks for flight to warm countries. At this stage, the independent life of the chicks begins.
Lifestyle
A feature that attracts many is that they, as a rule, find their couple for the rest of their lives. The exception may be the death of one of the partners, as well as unsuccessful attempts to have offspring.
The male attracts the attention of the female with funny dances and exclamations. Such behavior can be with complete solitude. During this period, the birds are very alert and shy.
Most often, gray cranes are nomadic. They build nests only for breeding.
A pair of cranes nest in the far distance from other birds. They build large (meter in diameter) and sloppy nests of brushwood. Housing is built very quickly. Inside it is dry grass.
Habitat
The crane prefers to live in an open area, for example, a grass marsh. While incubating eggs and grooming chicks, they settle near water bodies or in thickets.
Nutrition
In food, cranes are not picky. Their diet includes a large amount of plant food: wild berries, seeds, plant shoots, grain crops (wheat, oats). In summer, the birds feed on frogs and insects. They also consume small rodents (for example, mice), snakes, lizards.
An important part of the diet of cranes is water. These birds consume a lot of fluids. If there is no water source nearby, cranes fly to other places several times a day.
In aviaries and kennels, the diet of cranes is very diverse. They are given bread grains, raw meat, fish, etc. Cranes are very fond of feed intended for homemade chickens.
Abundance and prevalence
To date, the number of cranes is about 250 thousand birds. They live mainly in Russia and Scandinavia. The number of this species is constantly decreasing due to the drying up of wetlands and the construction of agricultural land. Farmers play an important role: they process pesticides in fields where cranes are looking for food. Oddly enough, poachers have little effect on the number of cranes.People very rarely shoot these birds.
Gray Crane is listed in the Red Book. Shooting and catching birds is prohibited by law. To preserve the number created aviaries and kennels.
In Russia, there are 2 subspecies of the gray crane: eastern and western. By signs, they are practically no different. The dividing border passes through the Ural range. The western gray crane winters in African countries, and the eastern - in the northern parts of India and China. Some representatives of the species hibernate in the Transcaucasus.
Interesting Facts
- When the cranes hatch eggs and care for the chicks, they coat their plumage with silt or marsh mud. This is done for good masking and protection from predatory animals.
- Take off the crane - a fascinating sight. He runs away smoothly and spreads his wings just before takeoff.
- Crane - the oldest animal. This representative of the family of birds appeared about 40-60 million years ago. This means that the crane has caught the era of dinosaurs. Primitive people depicted these birds on the walls of caves and rocks.
- Cranes are highly revered in many countries.For example, in Armenia, this bird is a symbol of the country. Cranes often appear in folk tales and stories.
- Cranes have a lifespan of 20 years. However, in the nursery birds can live 80 years, which is a great age for birds.
- The room flower geranium got its name in honor of the crane (in Latin, the word “crane” is spelled and pronounced “grus grus”).
- In terms of numbers, the gray crane is the second largest species of crane.
- Each year, adults shed, which is why some birds are temporarily unable to fly.
- The closest relative is the belle crane.
Video: Gray Crane (Grus communis)
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