Sarus Crane

     The Sarus Crane is the tallest flying bird in the world with some adult males reaching up to 1.8 metres tall and a wingspan of 220 – 250 cm. It inhabits open wetland of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Northern Australia. 

     Sarus cranes are elegant birds indeed, which have predominantly light-grey plumage. They can be easily distinguished with their naked red heads and necks, and long, pale red legs. Unlike many other Cranes species that make long migrations, Sarus cranes are largely non-migratory. However they may make short-distance movements in response to rain or dry-weather conditions. The only migratory population is located in Southeast Asia.

     There are 3 subspecies for the Sarus crane that are distributed across its habitat range and bear slight differences. The Indian Sarus crane is the heaviest and the talest subspecies, and can be indentified by the presesnce of a white collar just beneath the red upper neck ares. The Eastern Sarus crane of Southeast Asia, has a much darker grey plumage, with a lighter grey in the neck area under the red bare skin. And finally the Australian Sarus crane which has a lighter plumage color, and with a less bare red area in the neck than the other subspecies. In general, the Sarus crane closely resembles its relative the Brolga, that has a black dewlap under its chin, and far less red area in its neck.

     The breeding season of the Sarus crane tends to be associated with periods of high rainfall. For example; in India, it occurs after the monsoon rains from July to October. Usually, the female Sarus crane lays one or two eggs per clutch, rarely more than that. And both parents take part in the incubation, which lasts between 26 – 35 days. Chicks fledge after roughly 2 – 2.5 months from hatching and usually not all the eggs are successfully fledged. Most Sarus crane pairs are able to raise one chick and a few pairs in areas with excellent habitat conditions are able to raise both chicks. These birds usually reach sexual maturity at the age of 2 – 3 years.

 

Place of originThe Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Northern Australia
UsePreservation
WeightAverages 6 7 kg
Egg colorGlossy-cream with red dots

 

8 1 - Sarus Crane
The Sarus Crane by Kevin
16247225815 b5b7612365 h 1 - Sarus Crane
The Sarus Crane by Navin Sigamany
7 4 - Sarus Crane
Dancing Sarus Crane by cuatrok77
5 - Sarus Crane
A Sarus Crane family by lensnmatter