Black-Necked Crane

Often refered to as the Tibetan Crane. It is a medium-sized crane from Asia that breeds on the Tibetan Plateau and remote parts of India and Bhutan. It is 139 cm (55 in) long with a 235 cm (7.8 ft) wingspan, and it weighs 5.5 kg (12 lbs). It is whitish-gray, with a black head, red crown patch, black upper neck and legs, and white patch to the rear of the eye. It has black primaries and secondaries. Both sexes are similar. Some populations are known to make seasonal movements. It is revered in Buddhist traditions and culturally protected across much of its range. A festival in Bhutan celebrates the bird while the Indian state of Jammu and Kashmir considers it as the state bird. They are mostly grey with a black head and neck. The lores and crown are naked and dull red. A small patch of white feathers are present below and behind the eye. The tail is black and makes it easy to distinguish at a distance from the similar looking common crane which has grey tail.

Habitat

The black-necked crane summers mainly in the high altitude Tibetan Plateau. The breeding areas are alpine meadows, lakeside and riverine marshes and river valleys. They also make use of barley and wheat fields in these areas. Wintering areas tend to be in sheltered valleys or lower altitudes. The largest populations are in China with smaller numbers extending into Vietnam, Bhutan and India. Small populations have been noted in northern Sikkim. A small group of 20 to 40 was once known to regularly visit the Subansiri area in the Apa Tani valley until 1975 and vagrants have been recorded in Nepal.

In 1996 there were about 4,000 of the birds, most of whom spent their winters in Tibet in the valleys of the Nyanga, Lhasa and Pengbo rivers and the middle reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo. The Hutoushan Reservoir in the Pengbo valley is an important winter resting place, with a 96 square kilometres (37 sq mi) Linzhou Black-necked Crane Preservation Zone established in 1993. They also winter in small numbers in two valleys of western Arunachal Pradesh, India. These are Sangti and Zemithang.

Diet

They are omnivores. They feed on a variety of foods, including plant roots, tubers, earthworms, grasshoppers, snails, shrimp, small fish, frogs, lizards, beetles, flies, small rodents, and other small vertebrates and invertebrates. In winter, however, black-necked cranes are highly dependent on waste grain gleaned from barley, wheat, and rice stubble fields for their survival.

Breeding

Like many other crane species, they are monogamous and dancing displays are made during the breeding season. The breeding birds are territorial and will chase away any intruders of the same species, though they are generally tolerant of other species. The nest site is usually a pre-existing mud island inside a large shallow wetland, sometimes shared along with bar-headed goose. The nest varies from a scantily lined scratch in the ground to a structure made of grass, rushes and weeds with a depression in the centre, sometimes the eggs laid directly on the grass without any structure. Eggs are laid mainly in May and June. One or two eggs. The birds are more wary when the young ones are small. The time when the young ones are able to fly, the family kept moving around the nesting location, but later the family started traveling far and wide in the course of a day. Though the young ones are able to forage independently, usually they accompany the parents during foraging. Short, subdued nasal "kurrr" calls are used by the family to keep in contact and also by adults to indicate availability of food to juveniles. The adults were found to feed the young ones mainly with fish in Ladakh, adults fishing like herons.

Population

The global population is estimated at 10,000-10,200 individuals in total , roughly equivalent to 6,600-6,800 mature individuals. This species's population is presumed to have decreased in line with levels of grassland degradation (owing to intensive grazing and pesticide use) and drying up of marshes (due to increased extraction and desertification), and changing agricultural techniques that have reduced the availability of grain in cultivated areas. Recent increases appear to be genuine, but may possibly be a result of more thorough surveys and perhaps an increased concentration of birds at fewer sites. They are extinct in Vietnam

Threats

Intensive grazing and pesticide use has caused degradation of grasslands in breeding grounds. In central Tibet, farmers are planting high yield winter wheat rather than traditional crops. Ploughing in autumn rather than spring has reduced the grain on cultivated land. The drying-up of marshes and desertification as a result of surrounding development and agriculture is affecting breeding sites. Mechanised farming and draining of wetlands for settlement expansion are the major threats in Bhutan; grazing, hunting and stray dogs have possibly also contributed to declines. Fish-farming, peat and firewood collection, river channelisation, industrial pollution and sedimentation, and the construction of roads and fences have resulted in increased disturbance and habitat degradation in Qinghai, Sichuan, Ruoergai and Yunnan, China. At Dashanbao National Nature Reserve, China, farmland is being converted to grassland and woodland as part of conservation measures. The collection of eggs and poaching are problems in parts of China and India, and unsustainable tourism threatens its habitat as well as causing disturbance. A small number of birds have been killed after striking power-lines, and wind turbines could prove an additional threat. Climate change has been having an effect on their habitat and glaciers melting as well as changes in precipitation and evapotranspiration are likely to lead to reduced breeding habitat within high altitude breeding range of the species. In some areas water levels may be rising as a result of glacial melt and increased rainfall, but a lot of shallow wetlands used by the cranes are thought to be disappearing due to permafrost degradation. Natural predators include common leopards, yellow-throated martens, leopard cats and Asiatic golden cats.

Conservation

These are some of the actions being taken to protect these birds

Supporting pilot projects to reduce degradation around key wetlands through alternative livelihoods and agriculture practices.
Undertaking long-term monitoring of selected breeding areas to assess the impacts of climate change on cranes and key wetlands, and to develop measures for adaptation to climate change.
Strengthening environmental education efforts at Cao Hai and Ruoergai, using these efforts as a model to increase community awareness and pride in crane conservation in other areas of China.