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Cranes are tall wading birds in the family Gruidae. Cranes are found on every continent except for South America and Antarctica and inhabit a variety of open habitats, although most species prefer to live near water. [1] They are large birds with long necks and legs, a tapering form, and long secondary feathers on the wing that project over the ...
Of the four crane genera, Balearica (two species) is restricted to Africa, and Leucogeranus (one species) is restricted to Asia; the other two genera, Grus (including Anthropoides and Bugeranus) and Antigone, are both widespread. [5] [1] Many species of cranes are dependent on wetlands and grasslands, and most species nest in shallow wetlands.
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 (Grus virgo) and the Siberian crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus) that only are regular in the far eastern part of the continent.
The whooping crane (Grus americana) is an endangered crane species, native to North America, [3] [1] named for its "whooping" calls. Along with the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), it is one of only two crane species native to North America, and it is also the tallest North American bird species. [3]
There are only two suprafamilial clades (natural groups) among the birds traditionally classified as Gruiformes. Rails (), flufftails (Sarothruridae), finfoots and sungrebe (Heliornithidae), adzebills (Aptornithidae), trumpeters (), limpkin (), and cranes compose the suborder Grues and are termed "core-Gruiformes". [4]
This species and the black crowned crane are the only cranes that can roost in trees, because of a long hind toe that can grasp branches. This trait is assumed to be an ancestral trait among the cranes, which has been lost in the other subfamily. Crowned cranes also lack a coiled trachea and have loose plumage compared to the other cranes. [5]
Young cranes maintain a higher-pitched voice that may serve to distinguish them from outwardly similar mature birds, this stage lasting until the leave parental care. [14] [32] The average adult lifespan is around 30 to 40 years, with some specimens living to 75 years of age in captivity. It is one of the longest-living species of bird. [7] [33]
A common crane photographed in Slimbridge. Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds of the order Gruiformes.Two species occur as wild birds in Great Britain: the common crane (Grus grus), a scarce migrant and very localised breeding resident currently being reintroduced to the country, and the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), an extreme vagrant from North America.