Grey crowned crane

Grey crowned cranes live in eastern and southern Africa.

They nest in wet, grassy places. They look for food in grasslands and farm fields.

Grey crowned cranes live in eastern and southern Africa, from Uganda and Kenya down to South Africa. They are most common in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

They nest in wetlands with tall plants and feed in open grasslands, savannas, pastures and crop fields nearby. They do not migrate, but they wander to follow food and water, especially in drier areas. They can also roost in trees.

The IUCN's 2024 global assessment lists the grey crowned crane as resident in 15 countries from Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda and Burundi through Tanzania, Zambia, Malawi and Mozambique to Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and South Africa, with vagrants in Eswatini and Lesotho. The International Crane Foundation notes it is most abundant in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania.

The species uses wetlands for nesting and grasslands, savannas, pastures, cropland and fallow fields for feeding; in the south it uses vleis, shallow seasonal lakes. It is non-migratory but makes local and seasonal movements with food and water, which can be extensive in drier regions.

Most cranes never sit in trees.

But grey crowned cranes can! They have a long back toe that helps them hold on to branches.

Most cranes cannot perch, but the grey crowned crane has a long hind toe that lets it grip branches. Along with its close relative, the black crowned crane, it is one of only two cranes that roost in trees.

Parents hide their chicks in tall marsh grass and fly up to nearby trees to roost. The red gular sac under the chin can be puffed up when the crane calls, especially at the start of its courtship dance.

A long hind toe allows grey crowned cranes to perch and roost in trees, making them, with black crowned cranes, one of only two crane species able to do so; Animal Diversity Web describes tree roosting as an adaptation that helps avoid ground predators.

The red gular sac is inflatable, similar to a wattle, and is puffed up during the calls that open the courtship dance. Juveniles are grayish with a brown crown and nape and brown eyes; the gular sac appears at about four months, pink at first and red as the bird matures, and adult plumage comes at about 12 months. Downy chicks are pale buff with an ivory head.

The parents build a nest of plants in a marsh.

The mother lays two to four pale blue eggs. About twelve hours after hatching, the chicks can already swim!

Grey crowned cranes build a nest of plants in or near standing water, hidden in tall vegetation. Both parents build it and take turns keeping the eggs warm. There are 2 to 4 light blue eggs, more than most cranes lay, and they hatch after 28 to 30 days.

About 12 hours after hatching, the chicks can swim, floating like little corks. By the second day they follow their parents to look for food. They fly at 56 to 100 days old, then join a flock of other young cranes.

Breeding follows the rains: in East Africa it can occur year round with peaks in wetter periods, while in South Africa and drier regions it is mainly October to April, peaking December to February. Both sexes build a nest of nearby plants, 50 to 86 centimeters across, in or near standing water among tall vegetation.

Clutches of 2 to 4 light blue eggs, larger than the 1 to 2 of most cranes, are incubated by both parents for 28 to 30 days. Chicks are precocial: they swim about 12 hours after hatching, eat after 24 hours and forage with their parents from the second day, returning to the nest at night. They fledge at 56 to 100 days, join juvenile flocks and mature at about three years.