Animal
Red-crowned crane
The red-crowned crane is a tall white bird with a black neck and a red spot on its head. It dances in the snow! It lives in China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia and Russia.
The red-crowned crane is one of the world's largest cranes, white with a black neck and a bright red crown. Pairs bow, bob and leap in a courtship dance. It nests in wetlands of eastern Russia, China and Japan, and it is Vulnerable because those wetlands are disappearing.
Grus japonensis is a large, highly aquatic crane of temperate East Asia, with a migratory mainland population breeding in the Amur basin of Russia, China and Mongolia and a resident population on Hokkaido, Japan. The IUCN lists it as Vulnerable, with about 2,000 to 2,650 mature individuals, mainly threatened by wetland loss.
Photo: Christoph Moning, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
Meet the red-crowned crane
The red-crowned crane is very tall.
It is mostly white. Its face and neck are black, and it has a red patch on top of its head. Its legs are long and dark.
The red-crowned crane is one of the largest cranes in the world. It stands about 158 centimeters tall, and its wings can spread up to 2.5 meters.
Its body is mostly snowy white, with a black face and neck and white feathers sweeping back from behind the eyes. A patch of red on top of the head gives the crane its name. Some feathers on the wings are black, so you see black edges when the wings open.
Grus japonensis is a crane of the family Gruidae. Smithsonian's National Zoo describes adults as standing 158 centimeters tall with a wingspan of up to 2.5 meters and weights of 7 to 15 kilograms; males tend to be slightly larger, and the sexes look alike.
The plumage is white except for black secondary and tertial feathers, which show as a black trailing edge when the wings are spread, a black face and neck, and white feathers running from behind the eyes to the nape. Juveniles mix white with tawny, cinnamon-brown or gray feathers and have a gray to coffee-brown neck; their black-tipped primaries are replaced with all-white ones at about two years old.
Quick facts
- Group
- Bird
- Height
- up to 1.58 m
- Wingspan
- 2.2 to 2.5 m
- Weight
- 7 to 15 kg
Where it lives
Red-crowned cranes live in East Asia.
Some fly between Russia, China and Korea. Others stay all year on an island in Japan called Hokkaido.
There are two main groups of red-crowned cranes. One group nests in big wetlands of eastern Russia, northeastern China and Mongolia, then flies south to spend the winter in eastern China and on the Korean Peninsula.
The other group lives all year on Hokkaido, the northernmost large island of Japan, and does not migrate. Red-crowned cranes nest in marshes with fairly deep water and standing dead plants. In winter they use salt marshes, rivers, rice paddies and fields.
The IUCN's 2021 global assessment lists the species as resident in China and Japan, breeding in Mongolia and the far east of Russia, and wintering in North and South Korea, with vagrants in Taiwan. The International Crane Foundation describes a migratory mainland population breeding in northeastern China and Russia and a resident population on Hokkaido.
Smithsonian's National Zoo notes that Russian and Chinese birds winter mainly in the Yellow River delta, on the coast of Jiangsu province and in the Korean Demilitarized Zone. Birds breed in marshes with relatively deep water and standing dead vegetation; in winter and on passage they use tidal flats, salt marshes, rivers, wet grassland, saltpans, aquaculture ponds and rice paddies.
Continent
Its habitat
Where can you find this animal?
- Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
- Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
- Visits for part of the year · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Lives here naturally · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
Wetlands of the Amur basin in eastern Russia, northeastern China and eastern Mongolia, plus a resident population on Hokkaido, Japan. Cranes live in only small parts of these countries.
Places: China, Japan, Mongolia and Russia.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Sightings recorded · Records of wild sightings (GBIF)
Counts of GBIF records of wild observations (human and machine) and preserved specimens. Records include introduced populations, vagrants, escaped or released animals and misidentifications, so a country with records is not necessarily part of the native range.
Wild sightings have been recorded in Japan, South Korea, China, Russia, Taiwan, United States, Netherlands, Spain and 10 more places.
Source: gbif · checked October 2026
Visits for part of the year · Countries and seas named by a scientific source
North and South Korea, which the IUCN lists for red-crowned cranes outside the breeding season only.
Places: North Korea and South Korea.
Source: iucn-red-list · checked October 2026
Range maps show where scientists say an animal lives, often country by country. An animal may live in only part of a country shown, and sightings records can include animals that wandered far from home.
Fishing in deep water
Red-crowned cranes eat fish, frogs, bugs and plants.
They can wade in deeper water than other cranes. In winter in Japan, people give them corn to eat.
Red-crowned cranes eat both animals and plants: insects, small water animals, fish, frogs and small rodents, plus reeds, grasses, berries and grain. They feed in deeper water than other cranes, with a 'walk and peck' style.
In winter, many feed in rice paddies and fields. On Hokkaido, people put out corn and fish at feeding stations, and the cranes gather there.
The diet is omnivorous: insects and other aquatic invertebrates, fish, amphibians, small mammals, reeds, grasses, heath berries, corn and waste grain. Smithsonian's National Zoo and Animal Diversity Web both note that this crane feeds in deeper water than other cranes; Animal Diversity Web credits its 'walk and peck' technique.
In winter mainland birds forage in rice paddies and cultivated fields. On Hokkaido the resident cranes feed on human-provided corn, cereal grains and fish at artificial feeding stations. The International Crane Foundation lists a possible disease outbreak at these crowded feeding sites among the threats to the species.
Did you know?
Young cranes have brownish necks.
Young red-crowned cranes have gray to coffee-brown necks and get their all-white wingtips at about two years old.
Juveniles show a gray to coffee-brown neck collar and tawny crown feathers; all-white primaries replace black-tipped ones at about two years.
A crane built for the cold
Red-crowned cranes do not mind the cold.
They walk on snow with their long legs. Their long beak spears fish and frogs.
Smithsonian's National Zoo describes red-crowned cranes as well adapted to cold weather. You can see them walking across snowy fields in Japan in the middle of winter.
The long, sharply pointed bill works like a spear for catching slippery prey, and the long legs carry the crane through deep water. Red-crowned cranes have loud, high-pitched, rattling calls that ring out across the wetlands.
Smithsonian's National Zoo calls the species well adapted to cold temperatures, and the Hokkaido population remains in northern Japan through the snowy winter. The bill is long, sharply angular and deep green, used to spear prey.
Voices are high-pitched and penetrating, including a loud, rattling 'kar-r-r-o-o-o' with many variations. The International Crane Foundation lists three main calls: a soft, purring contact call that signals reassurance and location, a sharp, single guard call of alarm, and the unison call, a duet performed by a pair that strengthens their bond and defends their territory.
Raising chicks
The parents build a nest on wet ground or in shallow water.
The mother usually lays two eggs. Both parents keep the eggs warm. The chicks stay with their family until the next spring.
A red-crowned crane pair builds its nest on wet ground or in shallow water. The female usually lays two eggs, and both parents take turns keeping them warm for 29 to 34 days. Often only one chick survives.
The male guards the nest. When the young are about three months old, they follow their parents to look for food in the wetlands, and they can fly by autumn. Families stay together until the next breeding season.
Pairs are generally monogamous and often stay together for many years. Nests are built by both sexes on wet ground or in shallow water. Females usually lay two eggs, which both parents incubate for 29 to 34 days (Smithsonian); Animal Diversity Web notes that often only one chick survives.
The male takes the main role in defending the nest, and after hatching the female does more of the feeding while the male guards the chicks. At about three months the young accompany their parents to forage and can fly by autumn; Smithsonian gives first flight at about 95 days. Families stay together until the next breeding season, and young birds mature at two to three years.
The crane dance
Red-crowned cranes dance!
They bow, bob their heads and jump into the air. Partners call together in a loud duet.
Red-crowned cranes are famous for dancing. Partners bow, bob their heads, leap into the air and make other moves. Before they dance, a pair often calls together in a duet called the unison call.
The dance helps keep the male and female close, and cranes also dance to communicate with other cranes. Red-crowned cranes are social birds: in winter many gather in flocks, and families stay together for months.
Animal Diversity Web describes a dancing display used in courtship and in communication between cranes: a series of bows, head-bobbing, leaps and other gestures, often preceded by the pair's unison call. The International Crane Foundation explains that the unison call strengthens the pair bond and defends the territory.
The species is communal outside the breeding season, living in flocks. Smithsonian's National Zoo notes that the family group is the basic social unit, and families remain intact until the next breeding season. Chicks give a louder, more strident contact call than adults, which helps them get attention when in trouble.
Saving wetlands for cranes
There are not many red-crowned cranes.
The wet places where they live are getting smaller. People in several countries work to protect these marshes.
The red-crowned crane is Vulnerable. The IUCN estimates about 2,000 to 2,650 grown-up birds in the wild, and the number is falling. The biggest problem is the loss of wetlands, as marshes are drained for farms, factories and towns.
When wetlands disappear, too many cranes crowd into a few places. Conservation groups help protect wetlands and work with local communities and decision-makers in Russia, China, Mongolia and Korea.
The IUCN lists the red-crowned crane as Vulnerable (global assessment, 2021), with 2,000 to 2,650 mature individuals (best estimate 2,300) and a decreasing trend. The International Crane Foundation gives a total population of about 4,500 birds and reports an increasing trend.
The key threat is loss and degradation of breeding and wintering wetlands to agriculture and development, which concentrates cranes at a few sites. The International Crane Foundation adds water diversions, illegal taking and poisoning, power-line collisions, pollution, nest-destroying fires, invasive species and climate change. Its work includes water management plans for key wetlands such as Zhalong and Momoge in China and Muraviovka in Russia.
IUCN Red List
How is the red-crowned crane doing in the wild?
- Least Concern
- Near Threatened
- Vulnerable (this animal)
- Endangered
- Critically Endangered
- Extinct in the Wild
- Extinct
Vulnerable
At high risk of disappearing from the wild.
See the IUCN Red List assessment · The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2021.3
Amazing facts
-
Red-crowned cranes dance by bowing and jumping.
Red-crowned cranes dance with a series of bows, head bobs and leaps, often after calling together in a duet.
The courtship display combines bows, head-bobbing and leaps, often preceded by the pair's unison call (Animal Diversity Web).
-
Some red-crowned cranes stay in snowy Japan all winter.
The red-crowned cranes of Hokkaido, Japan, do not migrate. They stay all year, even through snowy winters.
The Hokkaido population is resident, while mainland birds migrate between the Amur basin and wintering grounds in China and Korea.
-
Young cranes have brownish necks.
Young red-crowned cranes have gray to coffee-brown necks and get their all-white wingtips at about two years old.
Juveniles show a gray to coffee-brown neck collar and tawny crown feathers; all-white primaries replace black-tipped ones at about two years.
-
Crane chicks call loudly when they need help.
A crane chick's contact call is louder and more strident than an adult's, which helps it get attention.
Chick contact calls are louder and more strident than adults', helping them gain attention in distress.
Words to know
- crown
- the top of a bird's head
- unison call
- a duet a crane pair calls together
- courtship
- behavior animals use to attract and bond with a mate
- wetland
- land that is soaked or covered with shallow water, like a marsh
- migratory
- traveling between different places at different times of year
- vulnerable
- facing a high risk of disappearing from the wild
Discovery challenge
-
What color is the patch on the crane's head?
What gives the red-crowned crane its name?
Which feature gives Grus japonensis its common name?
- A red patch on the head
- Red feet
- A red tail
Show the answer
A red patch on the head
It has a red patch on top of its head.
A patch of red on top of the head, its crown.
A red patch on top of the head.
-
How do red-crowned cranes show they like each other?
What do red-crowned crane partners do in courtship?
Which behaviors make up the red-crowned crane's courtship display?
- They build a dam
- They bow, bob and leap
- They change color
Show the answer
They bow, bob and leap
They dance! They bow, bob and jump.
They dance with bows, head bobs and leaps, and call together in a duet.
Bows, head-bobbing and leaps, often after a unison call.
-
Which cranes stay in Japan all year?
Which red-crowned cranes do not migrate?
Which red-crowned crane population is resident year-round?
- The cranes of Hokkaido
- The cranes of Mongolia
- The cranes of Russia
Show the answer
The cranes of Hokkaido
The cranes on Hokkaido, in Japan, stay all year.
The Hokkaido cranes stay in Japan all year; mainland cranes migrate.
The Hokkaido population is resident; mainland birds breeding in Russia, China and Mongolia migrate.
-
What is the biggest problem for red-crowned cranes?
What is the main threat to red-crowned cranes?
What is the key threat to Grus japonensis?
- Too much snow
- Losing their wetlands
- Too many fish
Show the answer
Losing their wetlands
The wet places where they live are getting smaller.
Wetlands are being drained for farms, towns and industry.
Loss and degradation of breeding and wintering wetlands to agriculture and development.
Places where you might see it
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Watch
Country
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Most of its land is steep mountains and forest, Mount Fuji is its tallest peak, and about 124 million people live there, many of them in big cities such as Tokyo.
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Watch
Country
China
China is the largest country in Asia, almost as big as all of Europe. The land steps down from the high, cold Plateau of Tibet in the west to plains and coasts in the east, and about 1.4 billion people live there, along with giant pandas in the mountains of south-central China.
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Watch
Country
South Korea
South Korea occupies the southern part of the Korean Peninsula in East Asia, with sea on three sides. It is mostly mountains and hills, its capital Seoul is one of its many big cities, and the national census counted about 51.8 million people in 2025.
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Watch
Country
North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, covers the northern part of the Korean peninsula in East Asia. It is a land of mountains and river valleys with long, cold winters. About 26.6 million people lived there in 2025, and almost all of them speak Korean.
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China
China is the largest country in Asia, almost as big as all of Europe. The land steps down from the high, cold Plateau of Tibet in the west to plains and coasts in the east, and about 1.4 billion people live there, along with giant pandas in the mountains of south-central China.
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For parents & teachers
What children will learn
- Describe the red-crowned crane's appearance and how juveniles differ from adults.
- Explain the difference between the migratory mainland cranes and the resident Hokkaido cranes.
- Describe crane courtship dances, calls and family life.
- Explain why wetland loss threatens red-crowned cranes and how countries cooperate to protect them.
Recommended ages: 3 to 17 · About 15 minutes
Talk about it
- Why might it be risky for many cranes to crowd into only a few wetlands?
- Why do you think crane families stay together for so many months?
- Why do countries need to work together to protect a bird that migrates?
Try at home or in class
- Try a crane dance with a partner: bow, bob your heads and jump, then talk about how animals use movement to communicate.
- Measure 158 centimeters up a wall to see how tall a red-crowned crane is compared with you.
Key vocabulary: crown, unison call, courtship, wetland, migratory, vulnerable
Where these facts come from
- The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN terms of use (no redistribution of Red List data or range maps))
- GBIF Backbone Taxonomy and GBIF Occurrence Search , Global Biodiversity Information Facility (CC0 1.0 (backbone); occurrence counts are facts derived from records under CC0, CC BY and CC BY-NC)
- Wikidata , Wikimedia Foundation (CC0 1.0)
- Grus japonensis (Red-crowned Crane), Red List global assessment 2021 (errata 2022) , IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
- Red-crowned crane , Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute
- Red-crowned Crane , International Crane Foundation
- Grus japonensis (red-crowned crane) , Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
- Wikimedia Commons , Wikimedia Foundation (Per file: Public domain, CC0, CC BY or CC BY-SA only (credited on each page))
Checked, not yet human-reviewed. Last updated October 24, 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.