Our Animals - Sarus Crane

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The Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) is a large non-migratory crane found in parts of the Indian Subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft), they are conspicuous and iconic species of open wetlands. The Sarus Crane is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by the overall grey color and the contrasting red head and upper neck. They forage on marshes and shallow wetlands for roots, tubers, insects, crustaceans and small vertebrate prey. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair-bonds and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship displays that include loud trumpeting, leaps and dance-like movements. In India they are considered symbols of marital fidelity, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of their mates even to the point of starving to death. The main breeding season is during the rainy season, when the pair builds an enormous nest "island", a circular platform of reeds and grasses nearly two meters in diameter and high enough to stay above the shallow water surrounding it. Sarus Crane numbers have declined greatly in the last century and it has been estimated that the current population is a tenth or less (perhaps 2.5%) of the numbers that existed in the 1850s. The stronghold of the species is India, where it is traditionally revered and lives in agricultural lands in close proximity to humans. Elsewhere, the species has been extirpated in many parts of its former range.

 
Description

In flight the black primaries contrast with the grey (Bharatpur, India)The adult Sarus Crane is very large with grey wings and body; a bare red head and part of the upper neck; a greyish crown; and a long greenish-grey pointed bill. In flight, the long neck is held straight, unlike a that of an heron, which folds it back, and the black wing tips can be seen; the crane's long pink legs trail behind them. This bird has a grey ear covert patch, an orange-red iris and a greenish-grey bill. Juveniles have a yellowish base to the bill and the brown-grey head is fully feathered.

The bare red skin of the adult's head and neck is brighter during the breeding season. This skin is rough and covered by papillae, and a narrow area around and behind the head is covered by black bristly feathers. The sexes do not differ in plumage although males are on average larger than females; male Sarus of the Indian population can attain a maximum height of approximately 200 cm (6.6 ft), with a wingspan of 250 cm (8.5 ft), making them the world's tallest extant flying bird. The weight of nominate race individuals is 6.8–7.8 kg, (15 lb), while five adult sharpii averaged 8.4 kg. Across the distribution range, the weight can vary from 5 to 12 kg (11–26 lbs), height typically from 115 to 167 cm (45–69 in) and the wingspan from 220 to 280 cm (87–110 in).[6] Birds from Australia tend to be smaller than birds from the north.

In Australia, the Sarus can easily be mistaken for the more widespread Brolga. The Brolga has the red coloring confined to the head and not extending into the neck.

Distribution and habitat

The species has historically been widely distributed on the lowlands of India along the Gangetic plains, extending south to the Godavari River, west to coastal Gujarat, the Tharparkar District of Pakistan, and east to West Bengal and Assam. The species no longer breeds in the Punjab, though it occurs sporadically on the Indian side in winter. Sarus Cranes are rare and occur in very low numbers in West Bengal and Assam, and are no longer found in the state of Bihar. In Nepal, its distribution is restricted to the western lowland plains, with most of the population occurring in Rupandehi, Kapilvastu, and Nawalparasi districts.

There are two distinct populations of Sarus Cranes in South-east Asia: the northern population in China and Burma, and the southern population in Cambodia and Vietnam. The Sarus used to extend to Thailand and further east into the Philippines, but is extinct in both areas now. In Australia they are found only in the northern parts, and are partly migratory in some areas. The global range has shrunk and the largest occupied area is now in India. With marshlands largely destroyed, these cranes are increasingly dependent on wet paddy fields in India. Although now found mainly at a low elevation on the plains, there are some historical records from highland marshes further north in Harkit Sar and Kahag in Kashmir. The Sarus Crane breeds in some high elevation regions such as near the Pong Dam in Himachal Pradesh, where populations may be growing in response to increasing rice cultivation along the reservoir.

Sarus Cranes preferentially use wetlands or uncultivated patches amid flooded rice paddies (locally called khet-taavadi) for nesting. Breeding pairs are territorial and prefer to forage in natural wetlands, though wet crops like rice and wheat are also frequented.