African Crowned Crane

• Range: Found from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Kenya to central Tanzania.
  
• Habitat: Open marshlands, grasslands and swamps.
  
• Description: Standing just over 4 feet tall, it has white ovals behind the eyes, a bright red patch on each cheek, a bright red wattle and a large, erect, spiky plume of golden brown feathers on its head. Its plumage is basically dark gray to black. Its wings are white with yellowish tips and its tail feathers are brown. Males and females have similar plumage. One of the most unusual features of this bird, like all cranes, is in the internal anatomy of its windpipe. It may be 5 feet long, half of which is coiled within the breastbone. The enormous length of the windpipe gives the cranes their loud trombone-like calls, which can carry for a mile or more.
  
• Diet: Their diet consists of plants, seeds, grain, insects, frogs, worms, snakes, small fish and the eggs of water animals. They stamp as they walk, flushing insects.
  
• Behavior: The cranes live in pairs or family parties, building up to flocks of more than 100. They are gregarious and roost in riverbeds and trees. These cranes have a trumpeting call and a guttural grunt.
  
• Breeding: During the breeding season, crowned cranes gather to perform spectacular breeding dances. Not only do the monogamous breeding pairs dance with each other, but also all join in, even non-breeding juveniles. The crowned crane's dance is particularly outstanding as it postures with wings outstretched to display its feathers, struts about and jumps high into the air. This bird of the African grasslands builds its nest on the ground or in low scrub or bushes. The nest is usually no more than a patch of flattened vegetation. The usual clutch is two to three eggs. Both the male and female share incubation duties.