Hooded Crane - BirdForum Opus

Adult
Photo © by Ingo Waschkies
Arasaki, Kyushu, Japan, November 2003

Grus monacha

Identification

91–100 cm (35¾-39¼ in); wingspan 160–180 cm (63-70¾ in).
Adult: Grey body; head white except for “hood” of bare red skin above hazel-yellow eye, legs and toes black. Sexes alike though male slightly larger. Juvenile crown is covered with black and white feathers during the first year, with some brownish or greyish wash on their body feathers.

Distribution

Immature
Photo © by Joseph Morlan
Izumi--Izumi Crane Observation Center, Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan, 18 February 2019

Breeds Siberia and Manchuria
Winters to southern China, Korea and Japan
A Hooded Crane seen and photographed in Nebraska in 2011 was added to the official Nebraska bird list, but was not accepted by the American Birding Association's checklist because of questionable natural occurrence.

Taxonomy

A monotypic species^[1].

Habitat

Breeds in sphagnum bogs, forested wetlands in mountain valleys. Winters on cultivated rice fields and wetlands.

Behaviour

Breeding

Adult in flight
Photo © by edenwatcher
Arasaki, Kyushu, Japan, February 2008

Nests are made of damp moss, peat, sedge stalks and leaves, and branches of larch and birch. Two eggs are laid and incubated by both parents for 27-30 days.

Diet

Diet includes aquatic plants, berries, insects, frogs, salamanders, roots, rhizomes, seeds, grass, and small animals. At the Izumi crane area, they are fed rice.

Movements

Migrates through northeast China. The majority of the population winters in Japan with 80% concentrated at Izumi.

Vocalisations

Loud, rolling and high-pitched calls.

References

1. Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
2. Wikipedia contributors. (2018, February 28). Hooded crane. In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Retrieved 09:54, May 9, 2019, from https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Hooded_crane&oldid=828073150
3. International Crane Foundation
4. BirdForum Member observations
5. Archibald, G.W., Meine, C.D., Kirwan, G.M. & Garcia, E.F.J. (2019). Hooded Crane (Grus monacha). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/53561 on 29 April 2019).
6. BirdLife International 2016. Grus monacha. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016: e.T22692151A93337861. http://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692151A93337861.en. Downloaded on 29 April 2019.
7. Silcock, W.R., and J.G. Jorgensen. 2018. Hooded Crane (Grus monacha), Version 1.0. In Birds of Nebraska — Online. https://www.BirdsofNebraska.org

• List of references

Recommended Citation

• BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Hooded Crane. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 22 January 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Hooded_Crane

External Links

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