Black-Necked Crane

     The Black-Necked Crane is a medium-sized Asian Crane that breeds in the Tibetan Plateau and the remote parts of India and Bhutan. It’s the only alpine crane in the world.

     As the English name suggests, the upper part of the neck and the head are black, except for a small white patch to the rear of the eye and a red crown patch on the top of the head. The Black-Necked crane has ashy grey body, becoming almost whitish on the underparts, but the legs, lower parts of the wings and the tail are black. The black tail is the sign that makes it easy to be distinguished at a distance from the similar looking Common Crane which has a grey tail instead.

     Black-Necked cranes arrive to the breeding areas from late March to mid-May, depending on the area they depart from in November. Two eggs are usually laid per clutch, with chicks hatching after around 30 to 34 days. The incubation duties are carried out by both parents, and the nest is never left unless the adult bird is threatened. The helpless chick is unable to stand until two days after hatching, and it will fly after three months. 

     The Black-Necked Crane is 139 cm long with a 235 cm wingspan and reaches maturity at two to three years of age. A festival is usually held in Bhutan celebrates the bird, while it’s the state bird of the Indian state ‘Jammu and Kashmir’.