Bible Birds – Cranes

Whooping Crane (Grus americana) ©USFW

Like a crane or a swallow, so did I chatter: I did mourn as a dove: mine eyes fail with looking upward: O LORD, I am oppressed; undertake for me. (Isa 38:14)

To find out more about Cranes from Lee’s Birdwatching Adventures:

• Bible Birds – Crane’s Introduction
• Bible Birds – Crane I
• Birds of the Bible – Crowned Cranes
• Birds of the Bible – Cranes ~  Cranes II
• Birds of the Bible – Demoiselle Crane
• Eye of the Beholder – Ibises and Crane
• A Beauty from The Beauty…
• Sandhill Crane “Colt” Birdwatching
• Sandhill Crane Juveniles in Backyard

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An alphabetical list of the Gruidae – Cranes Family:

Black Crowned Crane (Balearica pavonina)
Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis)
Blue Crane (Grus paradisea)
Brolga (Grus rubicunda)
Common Crane (Grus grus)
Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo)
Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum)
Hooded Crane (Grus monacha)
Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis)
Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)
Sarus Crane (Grus antigone)
Siberian Crane (Grus leucogeranus)
Wattled Crane (Grus carunculata)
White-naped Crane (Grus vipio)
Whooping Crane (Grus americana)

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Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the group Gruiformes.  Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back. Cranes live on all continents except Antarctica and South America.

They are opportunistic feeders that change their diet according to the season and their own nutrient requirements. They eat a range of items from suitably sized small rodents, fish, amphibians, and insects, to grain, berries, and plants.

Most have elaborate and noisy courting displays or “dances”. While folklore often states that cranes mate for life. Cranes construct platform nests in shallow water, and typically lay two eggs at a time. Both parents help to rear the young, which remain with them until the next breeding season.

Some species and populations of cranes migrate over long distances; others do not migrate at all. Cranes are solitary during the breeding season, occurring in pairs, but during the non-breeding season they are gregarious, forming large flocks where their numbers are sufficient.

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