Grey Crowned Crane

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Balearica regulorum

The Grey Crowned Crane with its eye-catching “hairstyle” must be one of the most easily identifiable birds in South Africa. Their Afrikaans name, Mahem, is a good imitation of their call. They stand about 1m high and weigh roughly 3.5kg.

Grey Crowned Cranes can be found in or near wetlands and flooded grasslands, and is one of the few crane species that will perch in trees. Their diet is omnivorous, ranging from grass-seeds and grains to insects, crabs and small vertebrates. Pairs are territorial during the nesting season, which stretches over the wetter seasons in South Africa. Nests are platforms built from grass and sedges in waterlogged areas. Courtship includes elaborate dances involving jumping and bowing. Two to five eggs are incubated for four weeks, and the precocial chicks fledge within 100 days of hatching. Outside the breeding season Grey Crowned Cranes flock and roost communally in groups numbering up to 200.

Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Crowned Cranes at their nesting site
Flock of Grey Crowned Cranes in flight
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Crowned Crane
Grey Crowned Crane (photo by Joubert)

As a result of wide-spread habitat loss and illegal collection of eggs and live birds from the wild for the illegal wildlife trade and traditional uses, the IUCN considers the Grey Crowned Crane to be endangered, despite their wide distribution in Eastern, Central and Southern Africa. The population in South Africa is estimated at between 4,000 and 5,000 (out of a total population probably below 64,000 on the continent) and is mostly found in the provinces of the Eastern Cape, Kwazulu Natal, Free State and Mpumalanga.

27 thoughts on “Grey Crowned Crane”

  1. Pingback: Exploring Golden Gate | de Wets Wild

  6. Midwestern Plant Girl

    Money.
    And our big, fat, human egos is what will kill everything and us stoopid, hairless apes in the end.
    (End on a happy note…)
    Lovely photos! They are such stately birds. Love the headdress 👑

    Liked by 1 person

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  8. petrujviljoen

    (Skryf in Engels dat almal kan verstaan) … I live in an area where tourism is one of two major industries, the other being pine plantations. It is therefore a big employer. It’s a question of choosing between people and the fauna and flora. I recently attended a ‘Road Show’ of a tourism drive. Lodge owners are advised to create extra activities for people – resulting in gouging out bits of mountain for a toboggan slides, quad bikes, helicopter tours where they fly low into a gorge, creating unbelievable noise and pollution, water related activities and many more to attract even more tourists. No environmental checks are done prior to creating these activities. Extra roads are planned, parking lots made and on and on and on.

    If I could find a way of curbing tourism, I would. I’m up against billions of Rand.

    It’s the saddest thing.

    Liked by 2 people

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