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Crowned Crane
Crowned Crane
Bird. The African crowned crane is the only crane to perch in trees, favoring solitary trees with wide views. They are considered to be “living fossils” among cranes, having flourished in the Eocene period some 54 to 38 million years ago and surviving the ice age. During their mating dance, two cranes hop and jump gracefully with each other, their wings partly spread. Then they open their wings fully, bow to each other, and jump several feet in the air. When they land, they run around each other and start all over again. Crowned cranes have a guttural grunt and a trumpeting call, “u-wang u-wang.”
Scientific Name Lifespan
Balearica pavonin 22 years, 40 in captivity
Diet
Omnivore. Plants, seeds, grain, insects, frogs, worms, snakes, small fish and the eggs of water animals. They stamp as they walk to flush out insects to eat.
Predators and Threats
Humans.
Habitat
Grasslands, marshes, and flooded fields of Natal, Namibia, Kenya and Uganda, Africa.