Cranes of Eurasia

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EurAsia has eight species of crane that live part or all of the year on that large landmass. The Demoiselle Crane details are found on the Africa page and the Saurus Crane details are found on the Australia page.

Eurasian Crane (Grus grus)

Black-Necked Crane (Grus nigricollis)

The Eurasian Crane is also known as the Common Crane.
It has the largest range of all the cranes, covering much of northern Asia and Europe and migrating to many areas in south Asia, Europe and parts of north and east Africa.

Black-Necked Cranes are closely related to the Whooping Crane. The black neck feathers give this crane its common name.
It lives in the high altitudes of Tibet, southwest China, northeast India and Bhutan.

There are an estimated 420,000 of these cranes, second only in number to the Sandhill Crane of North America.
While not threatened in general, habitat loss has eliminated them from portions of their former range in the Balkan nations.
Their feathers are grey, with a black and white striped neck and a small red patch on the crown of its head.

During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, the formerly numerous crane was reduced to less than 4,000 individuals.
Today programs in China and Bhutan are helping to reverse this decline.
In 1985, China presented the International Crane Foundation with a pair of Black-Necked Cranes, completing their holdings of all 15 crane species.

White-Naped Crane (Grus vipio)

Hooded Crane (Grus manacha)

White-Naped Cranes are easily recognized by their grey and white striped neck and pink legs.
Their breeding range overlaps with the Red-Crowned Crane.

Hooded Cranes have dark grey-black feathers, white necks and a black patch of feathers on their foreheads.
Protective efforts have resulted in increased numbers since the 1950s.

They live mainly in Mongolia, northeastern China, the demilitarized zone between the two Koreas, adjacent parts of Russia and southern Japan.
Like many other crane species, White-Crowned Cranes face the threat of land use diversion for agricultural purposes.

Hooded Cranes range overlaps with the White-Naped and Red-Crowned Crane in Korea and southern Japan. However, it is largely absent from China and Mongolia, and much more prevalent in the areas of Russia to the north of Manchuria and Mongolia.

Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus)

Red-Crowned Crane (Grus Japonensis)

Siberian Cranes are the most highly specialized of all cranes. They have the longest migration routes (up to 5,000 miles); the most aquatic nesting and feeding requirements, and the most unique of the dancing displays.

A crown of red gives this crane its name. It has a black neck, white body feathers and black under-wing feathers.
There are only an estimated 2,800 of these birds, Their range overlaps that of the White-Naped Crane.

They are the longest lived of the cranes, with one bird known to have lived to 82 years of age in captivity.
Feather colors: white, with black wing tips.
They range from the grasslands and wetlands of Siberia and Kazakstan and migrate to south eastern China, Northern India, and Iran in the winter.
Distinguishing features: Red colored forehead, very long pointed bill..
Threats: desertification, and water diversion schemes in China growing human populations and agricultural operations.
Less than 3,200 remain in the wild, but several captive breeding programs are in place.

The Red-Crowned Crane features highly in Japanese legends and art. Wedding kimonos feature embroidered Red- Crowned Cranes as a symbol of fidelity and monogamy. They were protected by law in Japan in feudal times. When feudal law was abolished in the 19th century, they were hunted to near elimination in Japan. Today, they are once again protected by law in Japan and their numbers are increasing.

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