Black-Necked Crane

The black-necked crane (Grus nigricollis) is a medium-sized crane in Asia that breeds on the  winters mainly in remote parts of India and Bhutan. It is 139 cm (55 in) long with a 235 cm (7.8 ft) wingspan, and it weighs 5.5 kg (12 lbs). It is whitish-gray, with a black head, red crown patch, black upper neck and legs, and white patch to the rear of the eye. It has black primaries and secondaries. Both sexes are similar. Some populations are known to make seasonal movements. It is reserved in Buddhist traditions and culturally protected across much of its range. A festival in Bhutan celebrates the bird while the India state of  Kashmir considers it as the state bird.


The black-necked crane summers mainly in the high altitude Tibetan Plateau. The breeding areas are alpine meadows, lakeside and riverine marshes and river valleys. They also make use of barley and wheat fields in these areas. Wintering areas tend to be in sheltered valleys or lower altitudes. The largest populations are in China with smaller numbers extending into Vietnam, Bhutan and India. Small populations have been noted in northern Sikkim. A small group of 20 to 40 was once known to regularly visit the Subansiri area in the Apa Tani valley until 1975 and vagrants have been recorded in Nepal.
In 1996 there were about 4,000 of the birds, most of whom spent their winters in Tibet in the valleys of the Nyanga, Lhasa and Penbago rivers and the middle reaches of the Yarlang Tasango. The  Pengbo valley is an important winter resting place, with a 96 square kilometers (37 sq mi) Linzhou Black-necked Crane Preservation Zone established in 1993. Black-necked cranes also winter in small numbers in two valleys of wester Arunachal prodesh in India.

Behavior Of Black-Necked:
 Black-necked cranes forage on the ground in small groups, often with one bird acting as a sentinel. In winter, the groups arrive and leave the feeding grounds together, but may split into family groups, each group keeping their own small feeding territories in a big marshes or fields. They spend nearly 75% of the day foraging with peak feeding in the early morning and late afternoon. While foraging, they keep walking and they also walk long distances between the feeding spots. In this manner, they cover several kilometers a day while foraging. They feed on the tubers of sedge, plant roots, earthworms, insects and other invertebrates, frogs and other small vertebrates. They may also feed on fallen grains of barley, oats and buckwheat and will sometimes dig up and feed on potatoes, carrots and turnips. Their loud trumpeting calls are similar to those of other cranes.
These birds are very wary, but in some areas they are accustomed to the local people who do not disturb them. These cranes appear to be able to distinguish people in traditional dress and are especially wary of others.
Like many other crane species, they are believed to form long-lasting pair bonds and dancing displays are made during the breeding season. The breeding birds are territorial and will chase away any intruders of the same species immediately, though they are generally tolerant of other species. The nest site is usually a pre-existing mud island inside a large shallow wetland. The nest varies from a scantily lined scratch in the ground to a structure made of grass, rushes and weeds with a depression in the center, sometimes the eggs laid directly on the grass without any structure. Eggs are laid mainly in May and June. One or two eggs. The birds are relatively more wary when the young ones are small. Till the time when the young ones are able to fly, the family kept moving around the nesting location, but later the family started traveling far and wide in the course of a day. Though the young ones are able to forage independently, usually they accompany the parents during foraging. Short, subdued nasal "kurrr" calls are used by the family to keep in contact and also by adults to indicate availability of food to juveniles. The adults were found to feed the young ones mainly with fish in Ladakh, adults fishing like herons. They are endangered because of the hunters.

The rare and endangered black-necked crane occupies a special place in Bhutanese hearts and folklore. Its arrival every autumn from Tibet inspires songs and dances; it usually heralds the end of the harvesting season and also the time when families start migrating to warmer climates. Like other cranes, these have an elaborate mating ritual, a dance in which pairs bow, leap into the air and toss vegetation about while uttering loud bugling calls. It can be difficult to distinguish the sexes because the colouration is so similar, but the females are slightly smaller. Their migration is on of the most difficult in the world. To reach their winter grounds in Bhutan the birds must traverse the highest Himalayan peaks.  - See more at: http://bhutancanada.org/bhutan-fun-facts-weird-and-wonderful-animals-of-bhutan/#sthash.mkPzbf2C.dpuf