Grey Crowned Crane (Balearica regulorum).
The Grey crowned crane is the national bird of Uganda, and can be found in the country’s flag and coat of arms.
This species are the only cranes that can roost in trees, because of a long hind toe that can grasp branches.
The Grey Crowned Crane has a breeding display involving dancing, bowing, and jumping. It has a booming call which involves inflation of the red throat skin. It also makes a honking sound quite different from the trumpeting of other crane species.
The Grey Crowned Crane is about 1 m (3.3 ft.) tall and weighs 3.5 kg (7.7 lbs.). Its body plumage is mainly grey. The wings are also predominantly white, but contain feathers with a range of colours. The head has a crown of stiff golden feathers. The sides of the face are white, and there is a bright red inflatable throat pouch. The bill is relatively short and grey, and the legs are black.
Although the Grey Crowned Cranes remain common over much of their range, it faces threats to its habitat due to drainage, overgrazing, and pesticide pollution. In 2012 it was upgraded from Vulnerable to Endangered by the IUCN.
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LOVE IT! Love how God dresses these birds. Thanks for directing me here!
Thank you Dianne… we are truly blessed in South Africa to have some colourful birds one cannot describe but rather stand in awe of Gods creation, another I love is the Lilac-breasted roller…
https://visitstothepark.wordpress.com/2012/11/26/lilac-breasted-roller/
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Fascinating 🙂
Thanks.
Brilliant, One spectacular looking bird. My turn to be green with envy.
It is one of the most spectacular birds I’ve known about most of my life… and at last I’ve managed to get on camera… I’ve got the black egret posting next week… it is another I’ve wanted to capture for life long with their most unusual fishing technique… got it on the same day…
oooh!!! Mister, you are special!
vento
Thank you…
I love these photos! Your images are spectacular.
It is such a magical bird… such diverse colours and the crown… I just love it…
What a beautiful bird! I hope that being put in a threatened category will speed the response to correct measures towards its protection. Is that possible? It seems that being the national bird there would be an all-out effort to protect it? It’s such an unusual and beautiful species!
This is not our National Bird, that I will be posting next week as I managed to capture it as well…. but yes steps have been taken to protect, breed and set aside areas specially for it… I don’t think its as critical as our own Bird, but still…
I understood that it was the national bird of Uganda, but thought it was endangered there. I suppose in many ways all these wonderful animals and birds are threatened worldwide, it’s just a matter of degrees. Maintaining natural habitat is always going to be a big problem. I will look forward to learning about your national bird. Each one is so beautiful! 🙂
The endangered list covers the whole area where it is found… so numbers internationally are going down… I read the other day that power lines have been the cause of so many deaths of cranes… and that known flight corridors all power lines now have these balls on them so the birds can see them… Just goes to show… we want lights and a bird suffers…
Love his hairdo! There is a chicken that has a plume of feathers on the top of his head – I don’t know what the chicken is called. I call them punk chickens!
I have seen photos of your punk chicken… I was hoping someone might be able to say they have something similar by them… maybe I should put in a letter to the bird society with the request for a name change to “Punk Crane”… actually has a nice ring to it…
They probably wouldn’t do it, but I’m sure they’d get a kick out of the request!
What an exquisite headdress; I’ll bet some fashion designers were influenced by it and used it in their collections.
It is unusual and I wonder how many other birds can brag of such an elaborate hair do… thanks for the comment as always…
Your Gravatar fascinates me… is it you, or are you using a photo of someone else, like Belinda Carlisle ??? or is Ronnie Hammer , Belinda..???
fantastic shots, Rob!!
Thanks Sheila, appreciate it…
They look so different from anything I’ve ever seen that I would just assume birds were photoshopped to look alien if I didn’t see it on your site! Gorgeous photos!
Thank you… they are something different… I wonder how many other birds in the world carry such a head dress..???
You would know this better than I!
I just love these! What an AWESOME bird! Love, love, love the “head-piece”!
Thank you… it is such a magic bird and to be able to capture it so close…. a dream come true….
Absolutely stunning photos!
thank you I think so too
She is such a lady isn’t she…assuming she…I love the one with the ruffled feathers!
I don’t know how to tell the sex apart to be quite honest… but for all intent and purposes… lets call them she… they still stay beautiful
amazing bird and photos! the second, third and the last are my favorites. The second looks like it could be an ad for some kind of beauty product, hmm…hair conditioner? what a stunning bird, fantastic job capturing it.
Thanks so much it was a wonderful feeling to capture something I’ve been trying to get photos of for such a long time….
So gorgeous! What lovely couple of beauties! Great photos, bdt. 🙂
I was so happy to capture these it just isn’t true…
I could get my hair to look like that with enough “product” time and sheer will! 😉
Now that’s what I expected from you… lol I wondered how many women would be jealous of the colour, only you would go for the style… love it…
I don’t need to be jealous of the color. My blonde is is as natural as the crane’s is. We are lucky ducks, er, um, birds… 😉
I need a “Love” button!!! I bow down to you, oh photography god! These are absolutely amazing captures, and I can totally understand your excitement. No way could I have waited to post them either, and I’m so glad that you included us in your exciting moment :).
I’m still jumping around as though I have ants in my pants… they are the best captures I’ve had in a long time…
Wow. This is a fantastic bird. I love his golden crown. Beautiful shots.
Thank you I have wanted this for years… that hairstyle…and to get them so close…magnificent…
Wow fantastic photos of a majestic bird. Thank you for sharing this fine accomplishment!!!
It was a magic capture one I’ve wanted for years…
Wow, they sure are beautiful!
Aren’t they this was a magic session for me.. always wanted to capture them in such a manner…
LOL Talking and answering yourself are we now? I agree with both of you!
Thank you.. I’m like a little boy with this capture… you don’t know how great I feel….
Man I love these photos….
How I agree with you….