Their feathers are grey and they have a red patch on the top of the head.
It feather colors are much like the Whooping Crane, with white body feathers and black wingtip feathers.
Brolgas are found in five of the six Austrialian states, with Tasmania being the exception and on the nearby island of New Guinea.
Brolgas are amongst the least threatened of the cranes, especially the 40 to 50 thousand that live in northern Australia and New Guinea. A smaller population of some 1,000 birds in southeastern Australia face threat from the expanding human population into their habitat.
Most other cranes replace their feathers right after their chicks hatch, and are thus unable to fly during this period and are vulnerable to predation. Brolgas drop only single feather or two at a time, and retain their flying ability.
Another adaptation to the harsh environment of Australia enables the Brolga to drink brackish water and secrete the salt from a gland near its eyes.
Indian Saurus Cranes live in northern India, Pakistan and Nepal. The Eastern Saurus resides in Cambodia, southern Laos and southern Vietnam. The Australian Saurus subspecies lives in northern Queensland and a small part of Australia's Northern Territory.
Land use changes and pollution in India and Southeast Asia have put these populations under extreme threat.