Black Crowned Crane

The Black crowned crane is covered with plumage that is black or nearly black. There wings have white and gold sections, and there are red and white patches of skin on the face behind the eye. Under the head is a small gular pouch which can produce booming noises when inflated. On top of the head is a golden crown. The bird's eyes are brown and its legs and feet are black. The young bird is greyish-brown with a brown nape and crown. Its crest is smaller in size than the adult's. The upper parts have rufous-edged feathers. It is a stately, elegant bird.

Habitat

The Black crowned crane makes it home in the savannah area of sub-Saharan Africa, from Sudan and Ethiopia in the east, over to the west coast including Senegal and Gambia. It lives in shallow wetlands and mixed grasslands, and often frequents flooded wetlands, wet croplands, rice fields and upland fields in West Africa. In East Africa the crane prefers wet areas, such as wet meadows, large marshes, ponds, lakes, and rivers.

Diet

All cranes are omnivorous. Principal foods of the Black Crowned Crane include tips of grasses, seeds, insects, and other invertebrates, and small vertebrates. They tend to forage in upland areas frequently near herds of domestic livestock where invertebrates occur in greater abundance. Seeds from agricultural crops are a most important food source. Unlike Grey Crowned Cranes, farmers do not seem to consider Black Crowned Cranes as agricultural pests.

Breeding

They begin their unison display in varied ways. The main vocalization is a booming call where the crane will inflate the gular sac underneath its chin and push the air out. This calling is done with the head laid against the top of the neck and then tilted back. The crane also produces peculiar honks that are quite different from the loud, bugling calls of other crane species that have much longer coiled tracheas. All cranes engage in dancing, which includes various behaviors such as head pumping, bowing, jumping, running, stick or grass tossing, and wing flapping. Dancing can occur at any age and is commonly associated with courtship, however, it is generally believed to be a normal part of motor development for crane s and can serve to thwart aggression, relieve tension, and strengthen the pair bond. The Black Crowned Crane’s circular nest platforms are built of grasses and sedges within or along the edges of densely vegetated wetlands. Females lay 2-5 eggs and incubation (by both sexes) lasts 28-31 days. Both parents guard the nest. When the female leaves the nest to forage, the male often guards by perching on a nearby tree. The male will sound an alarm call if a threat is perceived. Chicks fledge (first flight) at 60-100 days.

Population

According to IUCN Red list as of 2016, the total population of Black crowned crane was estimated to be between 28,000 and 47,000 birds. The western sub-population was estimated to number 15,000 individuals and the eastern sub-population estimated at 28,000-47,000 individuals. They are classified as Vulnerable with decreasing population trend.

The western sub-population is estimated to have declined from 15,000-20,000 individuals in 1985 to 15,000 individuals in 2004. Although the eastern sub-population may have undergone a more substantial decline (50,000-70,000 individuals in 1985 to 28,000-55,000 individuals in 2004). The species is estimated to have declined between 0-25% from 1985-2004. Given the uncertainty around these estimates, we provisionally estimate a worst-case decline of 30-49% over 45 years (three generations).

Threats

Habitat loss and degradation are significant threats, occurring through drought, wetland drainage and conversion for agriculture, overgrazing, fire, agricultural and industrial pollution, industrial construction and dam construction (flooding wetlands upstream and dessicating those downstream). Droughts have both directly and indirectly impacted this species's habitat, since they force people to migrate to relatively moist, less populated regions, which are then subjected to the associated pressures mentioned above. Considerable hunting pressures also exist, including capture and sale of live birds, some destined for legal international markets. Parts of dead Black Crowned-cranes, notably the head and wings, are used in traditional healing. In addition, indiscriminate pesticide application may be leading to harmful bio-accumulation of toxins, and direct poisoning to reduce crop depredation has been reported in East Africa. Warfare and political instability affects nations across the range of the species, and may have particularly impacted upon those in South Sudan where the implementation of conservation measures has not been able to proceed, and remains problematic. Oil exploration in and near the wetlands also poses a threat.

Conservation

These are some of the actions that are going to be taken to protect these birds

Conducting range-wide status surveys to determine the population and distribution of, and threats to, Black Crowned Cranes across West and Central Africa.
Developing new community-based conservation projects for Black Crowned Cranes linked to the broader wetland management programs in West and Central Africa.
Securing Black Crowned Cranes in key wetlands across the agricultural landscapes of Ethiopia.