Black-necked Crane

The black-necked crane is a medium-sized crane 139cm long with a 235cm wingspan, weighing 5.5kg. It is whitish-grey with a black head and upper neck, a bare dull red crown, a small white patch behind the eye and black legs. Its black tail makes it easy to tell from the similar common crane at a distance. Both sexes look alike, and some populations make seasonal movements (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and in remote parts of India and Bhutan, and a festival in Bhutan celebrates the bird. The largest populations are in China, with smaller numbers extending into Vietnam, Bhutan and India. Breeding areas are alpine meadows, lakeside and riverine marshes and river valleys. It feeds on sedge tubers, plant roots, earthworms, insects and frogs, and may take fallen barley, oats and buckwheat and dig up potatoes, carrots and turnips. Birds seem able to tell people in traditional dress apart and are especially wary of others.