Sarus Crane

The Sarus Crane with the scientific name of Grus Antigone is one of the large non-migratory cranes found in the world. It falls under the family Gruidae and is one among the fifteen species of cranes.

The quick classification of this sarus crane is given below,

Kingdom	Animalia
Phylum	Chordata
Class	Aves
Order	Gruiformes
Family	Gruidae
Genus	Grus
Species	Grus antigone

Physical Characteristics:

The adult Sarus Crane is one of the birds in the world which has a very large body. It has wings which are in grey colour. It has a bare red head. Its upper neck parts are also in red colour and have a grayish crown. And it also has a long pointed bill which is greenish-grey in colour. During the flight, its long neck is held straight, and the wing tips of this bird can be seen in black colour; the crane's long pink legs trail behind them. This sarus crane has a grey ear covert patch. Juveniles of these species also have a yellowish base to the bill and the brown-grey head which is fully feathered.


During the breeding season, the bare red skin of the adult birds' head and neck becomes brighter and the skin becomes rough and covered by papillae. Narrow area behind and around the head is covered by black bristly feathers. Both sexes of these species do not differ in plumage. But,on average male birds are larger than the female birds.

The Indian Male sarus bird's maximum height is in the range of 180 cm (5.9 ft). The weight of these species is in the range of 6.8 to 7.8 kg (16 lb). Five sarus cranes average weight is 8.4 kg (18.5 lb).

Based on the distribution range the height of these species vary from 115 to 167 cm (49 to 69 in) and the weight of these species vary from 5 to 12 kg (11 to 26 lbs). The wing span of these species is in the range of 220 to 250 cm (87 to 100 in). >

Behaviour

Breeding pairs of Sarus cranes maintain territories and defend them from other cranes by using a large repertoire of calls and displays. During this time, non-breeding birds can be seen as flocks in various sizes. The size of these non breeding birds is varying from 1–430 birds. In semi-arid areas, breeding pairs and successfully fledged juveniles used to depart from their territories during the dry season and then they join with the non-breeding flocks.

In the areas which have perennial water supply, like the western plains of the Uttar Pradesh districts, breeding pairs maintain perennial territories. In the breeding season, breeding pairs displace non-breeding birds from some wetland sites, and local populations can appear to decline. These species roost in shallow water. Adult Sarus cranes do not shed their feathers every year. Instead these species replace them only once every two or three years.

Migration

These species are non migratory in nature unlike other cranes in the world. They are resident in the place where they belong to. But, sometimes they may take some short distance movements because of rain or dry weather conditions.

Habitat

Sarus Cranes prefer the locations like wetlands or uncultivated patches, amid flooded rice fields for nesting and breeding in India. Breeding pairs mainly prefer to forage in natural wetlands, though wet crops like rice and wheat are also frequented. Sarus cranes are used to foraging in the shallow waters in the depth of 30 cm (1 ft) and in the fields where they are found to frequent the muds. These Sarus Cranes are conspicuous and iconic species in open wetlands.

These species are omnivorous in nature. These cranes are otherwise called as opportunistic feeders. They may change their food style based on the seasonable conditions and take the food which is available in that season.

The major food for these species is reptiles, insects,especially grasshoppers, invertebrates, frogs, butterflies, fish (perhaps only in captivity]), tubers of aquatic plants, crustaceans, plants, peas, potatoes, cereals, berries and seeds. These species also prefer larger vertebrate prey like water snakes as their food.

These Sarus cranes may take turtle's eggs and the eggs of other birds as their food rarely. The other preferable food for this sarus crane are tubers and grains, cereal crops.

Places Found

These species are one of the birds which are commonly found in the Indian subcontinent. Large population of these species are found in India when compared to other countries in the world. These species are widely distributed along the Gangetic plains, west to coastal Gujarat, Assam, West Bangal, Kahag and Har kit sar in Kashmir, Godavari river. These species no longer breed in the Punjab district. These species are not found in the states like Bihar as well. Most of the Sarus cranes are found in Rupandehi, Nawalparasi and Kapilvastu districts.

These Sarus cranes are commonly found in the following sanctuaries,
1. Sultanpur Bird Sanctuary, Gurgaon, Haryana State.
2. Bhagatpur Bird Sanctuary, Bhagatpur, Rajasthan.
3. Madhav National Park, Shivpuri district, Madhya Pradesh.
4. Kerala Bustard Sanctuary, Kerala.
5. Bhindawas Bird Sanctuary, Jhajjar District, Haryana State.
6. Thol bird Sanctuary, Ahmedabad district, Gujarat.
These species are also found in the Tharparkar District of Pakistan, China, Burma, Cambodia and Vietnam, Philippines and Thailand, Northern parts of Australia.

Sarus Cranes can produce loud trumpeting calls. Sarus cranes indulge in spectacular displays of calling in unison and posturing. And also they produce "dancing" movements which are performed both during and outside the breeding season. And these species may make a short series of jumping and bowing movements as one of the pair circles around the other. The Sarus cranes breed mainly during the Monsoons in India. That is the duration from July to October.

These species build large nests for breeding. They build platforms by using paddy fields, reeds and vegetation in wet marshes. They construct their nests within shallow waters by using straw, grasses, rushes, roots of grasses and mud. Because of this, their nest platform rises above the water level.

The Sarus cranes' nest is two meter (6 feet) in diameter and the height of the nest is one meter (3 feet). These species may refurbish and reuse their nests for the next breeding session also. These species will use the same site for up to five breeding session. The clutch size of this species is one or two eggs. Both male and female will involve in the incubation activity. The incubation period for this species is 27 to 35 days. Their eggs are chalky white in colour and weight of these eggs is about 240 grams.

The eggshells of the chicks are removed by their parents after the chicks hatch by carrying away the fragments or by swallowing them. The parents feed the chicks for the first few days. After that young ones are able to feed themselves independently. Young ones stay with their parents for more than three months. The Sarus crane is believed to pair for life. Sometimes, mate replacement occurs between the pairs.

Threats and Conservation

The IUCN Red List has declared the Sarus crane as "Vulnerable". The main threats for these species is habitat destruction and degradation, environmental pollution, hunting and collecting, as well as and possibly diseases or competing species. These species are extirpated in the countries like Malaysia, Thailand and Philippines.

These species are considered as one of the scared species in the world and these birds are left unharmed traditionally. Many Indian farmers think that these cranes will damage the crops especially rice by standing on them. Because of this attitude, famers don't allow these species in the agricultural sites which is another major reason for the threats of sarus crane.

Sarus Cranes can able to produce loud trumpeting calls. Sarus cranes indulge in spectacular displays of calling in unison and posturing. And also they produce "dancing" movements which are performed both during and outside the breeding season.

And these species may make a short series of jumping and bowing movements as one of the pair circles around the other. The Sarus cranes breed mainly during the Monsoons in India. That is the duration from July to October.

Sarus crane as a symbol of

In India, these species are considered as a symbol of marital fidelity. These species show the characteristics like mate for life and pine the loss of their mates at the point of starving to death like the humans. In Gujarat, there is a custom that the newly married couples have to see a pairs of Sarus Cranes for long married life.

Subspecies of Cranes in India

There are different sub species of sarus crane recognized in the world. The quick classification is given below, 1. Grus antigone antigone
2. Grus antigone Sharpii
3. Grus antigone gilliae
4. Grus antigone luzonica

Interesting Facts about Sarus Crane

There are 15 species of cranes recognized in the world. Among that 5 species of cranes are commonly found in India. That is, Demoiselle Crane (Anthropoides virgo), Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus ), Sarus Crane (Grus antigone), Common crane (Grus grus) and Black necked crane (Grus nignicollis). The sarus crane which belongs to Australia is small in size when compared to the sarus cranes in the northern side. The life span of these Sarus Cranes is up to 80 years. This Sarus crane is one of the tallest flying birds in the world.