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7

Common Crane

(Grus grus)
Alternate name(s): "Eurasian Crane"
German name(s): "Kranich"

Size: 1.0-1.2 m; wing span 1.8-2.2 cm
Weight: 5.1-6.1 kg (male), 4.5-5.9 kg (female)
Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Common Crane at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

Race "grus"

ADULT

BREEDING

PAIR

Pair of Common Cranes; being the taller of the two, the bird on the right is likely the male, with the female on the left
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Brok, Masovia, Poland, March 2019]

Pair of Common Cranes on a meadow; the smaller of the two birds, on the left, is probably a female
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Jelonki, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Sex unknown

Two Common Cranes on a meadow, possibly a pair (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Jelonki, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Lateral view of a Common Crane (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, March 2019]

Lateral view of Common Cranes in a wheat field (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Monte do Espargueiro, Mourao, Evora, Portugal, December 2019]

Lateral view of Common Cranes (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Jelonki, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Distant lateral view of a Common Crane foraging in a fallow field (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Jelonki, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Near-dorsal view of Common Cranes (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Jelonki, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Dorsal view of Common Cranes; note the different size and shape of the red spot, which does NOT indicate different sexes
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Jelonki, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Covey of Common Cranes on a meadow (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, Brok, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

Covey of Common Cranes on a meadow, with a covey of Common Wood Pigeons flying over
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, Brok, Masovia, Poland, August 2016]

Near-frontal view of Common Cranes at take-off (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Jelonki, Masovia, Poland, April 2016]

Lateral view of Common Cranes in low flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Monte do Espargueiro, Mourao, Evora, Portugal, December 2019]

Near-dorsal view of four Common Cranes in flight; their behaviour suggests that they may be two pairs
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[Near Jelonki, Masovia, Poland, August 2015]

Silhuettes of Common Cranes in flight, preparing to land after their long journey from somewhere in Africa
(photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, March 2019]

Skein of Common Cranes on migration to their breeding grounds (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, March 2018]

NON-BREEDING

Sex unknown

Part of a large flock of Common Cranes on migration to their winter quarters (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, November 2022]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Apr(?) - June(?) Eggs: 2 Incubation period: ca. 30 days Fledging age: ca. 63 days

Eggs are usually laid in May. Usually a clutch consists of 2 eggs, rarely 1 or 3 (or even 4) eggs are laid. The nest is usually close to, or surrounded by, water. Chicks are precocial, i.e. they leave their nest at a very young age, but they only start to fly short distances at ca. 9 weeks old. Until then they wander around with their parents, who at the time are also going through a moult and are flightless for 5-6 weeks.

Nest building: ? Incubation: Female (& male) Dependent care: Female & male

Nest

Type: Basket Material: Reed stems, twigs, leaves Height above ground: N/A

Overview of the location of a Common Crane nest by the base of a tree (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug wetlands, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, May 2017]

Common Crane squatting down on its nest (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug wetlands, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, May 2017]

Common Crane sitting on its nest (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug wetlands, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, May 2017]

Common Crane sitting on its nest (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug wetlands, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, May 2017]

Eggs

Size: 90 x 60 mm Colour: Tan, with grey-brown to dark-brown speckles Shape: Long tapered oval

Common Crane tending to the two eggs in its nest, possibly turning them (photo courtesy of D. Wilczynska)
[River Bug wetlands, near Brok, Masovia, Poland, May 2017]

Behaviour

Common Cranes can form substantial flocks. Like other large, heavy birds, they know how to minimize air resistance by flying in skeins.

Skeins of Common Cranes on migration to their winter quarters (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, November 2016]

Part of a large flock of Common Cranes on migration to their winter quarters; these are the birds whose calls were recorded on 4 November 2020 (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, November 2020]

Skein of Common Cranes on migration to their winter quarters; these are the birds whose calls were recorded on 4 November 2020 (photo courtesy of H. Dahlem-Senger)
[Eltville, Hessen, Germany, November 2020]

Covey of Common Cranes resting in a wetland (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sao Marcos da Ataboeira, Castro Verde, Alentejo, Portugal, February 2023]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

crane_dw_20190317.m4a grus (Poland) Contact calls? (flock) © DW
crane_dw_20180817.m4a grus (Poland) Contact calls? (flock) © DW
crane_sc_20220216.m4a grus (Serbia) Contact calls? (flock) © SC
crane_dw_20160930.m4a grus (Poland) Pair Q&A © DW
crane_dw_20160930_2.m4a grus (Poland) Contact calls? (distant; windy) © DW
crane_dw_20200905.m4a grus (Poland) Congregating for migration © DW
crane_hds_20201104.m4a grus (Germany) Large flock flying over © HDS

More Common Crane sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.