African Grey Crowned Crane

The grey crowned crane, also known as the African crowned crane, golden crested crane, golden crowned crane, East African crane, East African crowned crane, African crane, Eastern crowned crane, Kavirondo crane, South African crane and crested crane, is a bird in the crane family, Gruidae. This species is omnivorous, mainly foraging for grass, seeds, insects, small vertebrates, eggs of aquatic animals, small fish and invertebrates. The grey crowned crane co-opts with large herbivores who flush out insects as they walk, enabling the cranes to eat them. They can flock in large numbers, anywhere between 30 and 150. The grey crowned crane is the national bird of Uganda. The chicks are 'precocial' which means they can run as soon as they hatch. They don't tweet, far from it…they actually honk (and it's quite loud). The grey crowned crane is about 1 m (3.3 ft) tall, weighs 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs), and has a wingspan of 2 m (6.5 ft). Its body plumage is mainly grey. The wings are predominantly white, but contain feathers with a range of colours, with a distinctive black patch at the very top. The head has a crown of stiff golden feathers.

Scientific name: Balearica regulorum

Height: 3.3 ft. (Adult)

Conservation status: Endangered (Population decreasing)

Mass: 7.7 lbs (Adult)

Wingspan: 6.6 ft. (Adult)

Clutch size: 2 – 5

Length: 3.3 – 3.6 ft.