Specie's Page                                               Asia - Red-crowned Crane

Red-crowned Crane:  

UK Status: Non resident, introduced to zoos and parks, To be found in East Asia, and is one of the rarest cranes in the world. Asian flocks tend to be migratory, where as in Japan these cranes are mainly non migratory.

Habitat: In the winter months they are found mainly on Paddy Fields, grassy tidal flats and mudflats, where they mainly feed on invertibrates, in cold snowy conditions.

Breeding: In spring and summer, the migratory flocks of these cranes breed in Siberia, in Eastern Russia, and occasionally in North Eastern Mongolia. In the winter they migrate to the Korea Peninsula, and Central Eastern China, vagrants turn up on occasion in Taiwan. As with other crane species these birds have complex mating rituals. Nests are built on the frozen surface of the water, and usually have two off white eggs, and on odd occasions three. Eggs take about a month to hatch, the young stay in the nest for several weeks, being fed by both parents. After about three months the leave the nest and follow their parents around the marshes, foraging for food.

Comment: These birds are also known as the Manchurian Crane, they live for thirty to forty years.