THE CRANE'S WORLD |
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Crane Crane, categorized as bird, is a kind under the crane family and "Crane" is the common name. It's further divided into two sub-classes: one is Crowned Crane and the other is Crane. The former one has one kind while the latter has three, totally 15 species. Four of them have their own sub-class, amounted to two or even six. It can be marked as a big family of the category. Under the Crowned Crane sub-class, there is only one kind, including Black-crowned Crane and Grey-crowned Crane, both and the oldest Cranes of the world.And under another sub- class, there are three kinds@Blue Crane class consists of Demoiselle Crane, and Blue Crane; Whooping Crane class consists of Whooping Crane, and Siberian Crane; and Crane class are nine in total: Sarus Crane, Australian Crane, White- napped Crane, Red-crowned Crane, Whooping Crane and Sandhill Crane. Culture oP Crane Crane is well-known as a bird of culture. Chinese people, from old era to the present, take it as a symbol of luckiness and longevity. It stands a good position in Chinese cultural history, and it's always a favorite subject in poems, paintings, embroidery, music and dance. For example, over 2500 years ago, in The Analects, there could be found a vivid description of cranes in the eyes of ancient Chinese people . Breeding of Crane Except South America and South Pole Continent, crane now distributes all over the world. Steppes and swamplands @ always the places they stay. Most of them build nests by S． T.wU the waters with reeds (only those tropical resident birds like Black and Grey-crowned Crane, Wattled Crane, and Blue Crane need a bigger space for nest-building and breeding of young birds.) They very often structure the nest with reed leaves and dried grass. But still some merely use a few dead branches and leaves, or even lay their eggs on the ground at random. During the breeding time, the parents would fight against invaders with their lives and range the area about 1.5 to 5 square kilometers in width away from the nest. It's rather late for a crane to become mature, commonly at the age of two to six. The monogamous family breed in spring. The single adult crane would find their mate at a strange nest and this avoids the marriage between relatives and also maintain the advantage of their own groups. Cranes match themselves with songs and dances. Crane usually mate on a warm windy morning. It starts with male crane's dance, following by the male one and the female one point straight their bills and necks to the sky at the same time. Them, the female crane step her paces at the same place, with its rear part turning to her mate, its wings opening and pointing downward, its two legs bending forward slightly. Meanwhile, the male one is busy stepping the ground and turning and adjusting its direction until it matches the female one. It gives continuously some rhythmic sound and jumps on the back of his mate to have it done. After finishing doing it, both birds pull their necks straight and sing together. The whole process lasts for about four to five minutes, but the time for the intercourse only takes seven to eight seconds. Normally, a crane lays two eggs at every delivery and its size and color differ form kind to kind. Red-crowned Crane's egg weights about 250 grams on an average; Black-necked Crane 234 grams; Demoiselle Crane and Hooded Crane 134 grams. The incubation period is 28 to 36 days and it's done by parents in turn. To change hands, they also crane and sing together. It takes 22 hours for a young bird to break out of the eggs-from piercing holes to breaking the shell. It opens its eyes once it comes to the earth, covered wholly with fluff and by 20 hours, it can walk steadily and becomes an early adult. Young bird grows up fast and in around three months' time, it can fly. And at the age of four months, it has the size as big as an adult bird. At the same year, it is able to fly south for winter with its parents. 佑。L卜卜I片。可Cr乙n3 Eating all foods, crane is a big-size fowl. It usually dwells at a shallow wet land. But since of different kinds, different growing areas, different food resources, it makes the origin of food differ a lot from one another. On food-taking, it is roughly divided into herbivorous and carnivorous. The former one eats seeds of buckwheat, oats left in the fields, plant's roots and stems, fruit and algae. The latter one eats frogs, insects, little fish, mud-snails, oysters and lizards etc. Types oF Crane Totally, there are 15 kinds of cranes brief account of each of them: Here below is a 1) BlacIt-crowneJ Crane(alias West African Crowned Crane): Body length about 100 cm. Golden hard hair formed the crown-like feature on its head, and so also named as Crowned Crane. Forehead: covered with black, smooth velvet-like feather. Upper neck: with linear feather of grass color. Feather of whole body is dark-grey, close to dark. Feather of wings is light and white, only primaries chestnut. Rosy cheeks and a wattle growing from the throat. The harmony of feather makes the bright crown on its head more handsome. Found on the grassland and swampland in Guinea and West Algeria. It's of huge number in the beginning but now due to the drought in Africa and some other reasons, only thousands left. However, in Sudan, some sixty to ninety thousand can still be found, Steadily, they seek for all kinds of insects and eat massively grasshoppers, locusts, small-sized reptiles, frogs and different kinds of seeds and young buds. While hunting in the grass thicket, they frequently stamp feet, flap wings to show up the insects. Sometimes, being the only species among cranes which can live in a tree, they like to perch on a branch. Usually build nest in swampland and lay two eggs a time. Eggs: light green and has streaks of light red-brownish. It is Nigeria's national bird. Not close to extinction. Resident bird. 2) Gren-crowned Crane (alias East African Crowned Crane): Body length about 127 cm. Of lighter color them than of Black-crowned Crane, especially the neck. With feather of light blue-greyish, it has similar outlook of Black-crowned. A bright crown-like feature found on its head and white streaks on cheeks, covered with pink dots. Red wattle is very obvious. Living at the edge of swamp, it's good at walking on the grassland. Nest built at the swampland and three eggs laid a time. Eggs: light blue. Young birds are yellow browish, growing up fast. Local people like them very much, not only of its gestures and dance, but of its tender voice. The peasants there take its sound at dawn, noon and midnight as a precise biological clock. In Uganda, it's national bird and over hundreds of thousands left. It has there secondary species. Due to the development of drainage system in swampland , the living environment of this species is being threatened and its number decreases. Being hunted is another factor. Not close @ extinction. Resident bird. 3) Demoiselle Crane(alias Fair-lady Crane) It's of the smallest size among all kinds of cranes exist ;oday. Body length only 85 cm. Slender figure, black in head, ieck and abdomen. Fine feather around ears and extend hrough eyes to its nape. Its back coloured by blue-greyish aincoat-like feather. It's of small size, quiet, tame and dislikes o flock with other species, it's called "Fair-lady Crane." This species lives at open steppe and highland, mainly fed by sea weeds, small fish, shrimps, frongs and other molluscs. Breeding Areas: South-east Europe, North-west Africa, and Xinjiang, Nei Mongol, North Heilongjiang in China. Winter residence: Burma, India, East Africa, mid and lower stream of Yangtze] iang and Szechuen-Tibet etc. Nest located at open steppe and eggs directly, laid on bare, dry land. Wide Distribution and of great in number. About 160,000 left. Not close to extinction. Migratory bird. 4) Blue Crane (also named as Big demoiselle Crane, Stanley Crane, Angel Crane): Native to Africa, it distributes in South Africa, Mozambique and Zambia. It's honored as South Africa's national bird. Body length about 106 cm. Constant light blue- greyish cover whole body, while covering feather on the wings deep gray and its tips black. When standing upright, long tail drops to rear back and on its head is long, dense but lose silver- greyish feather. It all adds up to form a comely, elegant feature. It stays at South Africa grassland, rather far from the water. Eat on insects (especially grasshoppers and locusts), small reptiles, fish and stain. Having no intention to build a nest for breeding and just directly laid eggs in a concave piece of land with tall grass. Each time lays two eggs. Eggs: brownish- yellow, with long, light-brown and olive streaks. Seldom move a long distance, there are still about 20,000 left, but it's decreasing, for being poisoned by man. Not close to extinction. Resident bird. 5) WanleJ Crane: It's the biggest one among four species in Africa, with a body length of 132 cm. Feather: mainly grey, only black at the parts of breast and abdomen; white in neck. Bill red, and each has a red fan-like wattle on both cheeks. The bare part on the @@ is grey for the male ones, and also with white for the @"@ ones. It's characterized by the long, white neck, the Sequent shaking of the wattles and the dragging of the terities. Ifs native to Africa. This species builds nest at swampland and lays two each time. Eggs: light brown at the bottom and spotted with light red to dim brown on the shell, mixed with greyish-blue and olive. It's very timid, never approaching man. Eat on insects, small reptiles, small vertebrates and stain. Of seven endangered species in the world today, Wattle Crane is the only resident bird. Now only 8000 exist and mainly distributed in South-East Africa, like Tanzania, Mozambique, Angola. These areas has now got some swamplands under developing and this restricts very much the resting place of the "ranes. 6) Whire Crane (alias Black-sleeved Crane, Liao Crane, Siberian Crane, Nun Crane) Body length 135 cm. Except black primaries, all the body is pure white and it gives an impression of white dress with black sleeves while flapping wings. A bare, bloody red part found at the front of cheeks, rimmed by white feather, looks like a nun with white hat. It's a kind of migratory bird and two breeding groups in the East and in the West, far apart by 1,900 kilometers. In the East, the group breeds at North Siberian, Russia and stays south for winter along the mid and lower stream ofYangtzejiang. Boyang Lake ofJiangxi has become an important settling place for White Crane in winter. In the West, the group breeds at North-West Siberian, Russia, where found a belt of mossy forest. It spends the winter mainly in India and North Iran. Being an endangered species. White Crane is only next to Whooping Crane in quantity. Statistics of 1978 indicated that only 200 exist and listed as serious endangered species by the international biological field, and even collected it in the Red Paper. It's found to stay for winter at Boyang Lake in 1981 and in 1989, another statistics showed that it"s increased to 2,650. However, in recent years, it has started to reduce again. 7) Sams Crane: With a height of 160cm, a body length of above 150 cm and a weight of 12 kg, Sarus Crane is the biggest among all species of cranes. Fierce and bold, loud and clear voice, the |
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