Sarus Crane
Encyclopedia
The Sarus Crane is a large non-migratory
crane
found in parts of the Indian Subcontinent
, Southeast Asia
and Australia
. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft), they are conspicuous and iconic species of open wetland
s. The Sarus Crane is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by the overall grey colour and the contrasting red head and upper neck. They forage on marsh
es and shallow wetland
s for root
s, tuber
s, insects, crustacean
s and small vertebrate prey. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair-bonds
and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship displays
that include loud trumpeting, leaps and dance-like movements. In India they are considered symbols of marital fidelity
, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of their mates even to the point of starving to death. The main breeding season is during the rainy season
, when the pair builds an enormous nest "island", a circular platform of reeds and grass
es nearly two metres in diameter and high enough to stay above the shallow water surrounding it. Sarus Crane numbers have declined greatly in the last century and it has been estimated that the current population is a tenth or less (perhaps 2.5%) of the numbers that existed in the 1850s. The stronghold of the species is India
, where it is traditionally revered and lives in agricultural lands in close proximity to humans. Elsewhere, the species has been extirpated in many parts of its former range
.
The adult Sarus Crane is very large with grey wings and body; a bare red head and part of the upper neck; a greyish crown; and a long greenish-grey pointed bill
. In flight, the long neck is held straight, unlike that of an heron
, which folds it back, and the black wing tips can be seen; the crane's long pink legs trail behind them. This bird has a grey ear covert
patch, an orange-red iris
and a greenish-grey bill. Juveniles have a yellowish base to the bill and the brown-grey head is fully feathered.
The bare red skin of the adult's head and neck is brighter during the breeding season. This skin is rough and covered by papillae
, and a narrow area around and behind the head is covered by black bristly feather
s. The sexes do not differ in plumage
although males are on average larger than females; male Sarus of the Indian population can attain a maximum height of about 180 cm (5.9 ft) making them the world's tallest extant flying bird. The weight of nominate race individuals is 6.8–7.8 kg (16 lb), while five adult sharpii averaged 8.4 kg (18.5 lb). Across the distribution range, the weight can vary from 5 to 12 kg (11–26 lbs), height typically from 115 to 167 cm (45–69 in) and the wingspan from 220 to 250 cm (87–100 in). Birds from Australia tend to be smaller than birds from the north.
In Australia
, the Sarus can easily be mistaken for the more widespread Brolga
. The Brolga has the red colouring confined to the head and not extending into the neck.
, west to coastal Gujarat, the Tharparkar District
of Pakistan
, and east to West Bengal
and Assam
. The species no longer breeds in the Punjab
, though it occurs sporadically on the Indian side in winter. Sarus Cranes are rare and occur in very low numbers in West Bengal and Assam, and are no longer found in the state of Bihar
. In Nepal
, its distribution is restricted to the western lowland plains, with most of the population occurring in Rupandehi
, Kapilvastu
, and Nawalparasi districts
.
There are two distinct populations of Sarus Cranes in South-east Asia: the northern population in China
and Burma, and the southern population in Cambodia
and Vietnam
. The Sarus used to extend to Thailand
and further east into the Philippines
, but became extinct. In 2011, captive bred cranes were reintroduced into Thailand. In Australia they are found only in the northern parts, and are partly migratory in some areas. The global range has shrunk and the largest occupied area is now in India. With marsh
lands largely destroyed, these cranes are increasingly dependent on wet paddy field
s in India. Although now found mainly at a low elevation on the plains, there are some historical records from highland marshes further north in Harkit Sar and Kahag in Kashmir
. The Sarus Crane breeds in some high elevation regions such as near the Pong Dam
in Himachal Pradesh, where populations may be growing in response to increasing rice cultivation along the reservoir.
Sarus Cranes preferentially use wetlands or uncultivated patches amid flooded rice paddies (locally called khet-taavadi) for nesting in India. Breeding pairs are territorial and prefer to forage in natural wetlands, though wet crops like rice and wheat are also frequented.
published a monograph
on the cranes in 1881 in which he considered the "Sarus Crane" of India to be made up of two species, Grus collaris and Grus antigone. Most modern authors recognise one species with three disjunct populations that have been treated as subspecies, although the status of one extinct population from the Philippines is uncertain. The nominate subspecies from India is the largest, and in the east from Myanmar is replaced by race
sharpii that extends into the Southeast Asian islands. The nominate form from the Indian subcontinent
is well marked and differentiated by having a white collar below the bare head and upper neck, and white tertiary remiges. Some authors consider antigone and sharpii as representatives of a formerly continuous population that varied clinally. The race in Australia, initially placed in sharpii (sometimes spelt sharpei but amended to conform to the rules of Latin grammar
) has been separated and named as the race gilliae (sometimes spelt gillae or even gilli). The Australian race was designated only in 1988, with the species itself first noticed in Australia in 1969 and regarded as a recent immigrant. Native Australians, however, differentiated the Sarus and the Brolga and called the Sarus "the crane that dips its head in blood". The Australian race has a distinctively darker plumage
and a larger grey patch of ear coverts.Meine & Archibald (1996) p. 126 This race is the most recently diverged with an estimated 3000 generations of breeding within Australia. An additional subspecies luzonica has been suggested for the population once found, but now extinct, in the Philippines. It may be synonymous
with either gilliae or sharpii.
-_in_display_near_hodal_i_picture_2036.jpg)
Analysis of mitochondrial DNA
, from a limited number of specimens, suggested that there was gene flow
within the continental Asian populations until the 20th century reductions in range, and that Australia was colonized only in the Late Pleistocene
, some 35000 years ago. This has been corroborated by nDNA microsatellite analyses with four times the sample size
. This study further suggests that the Australian population is quite inbred. As there exists the possibility of (limited) hybridization with the genetically distinct Brolga, the Australian Sarus Crane can be expected to be an incipient species.
of sarus is from the Hindi
name ("sāras") for the species. The Hindi word is derived from the Sanskrit
word sarasa for the "lake bird", (sometimes corrupted to sārhans). While Indians held the species in veneration, British soldiers in colonial India hunted the bird, calling it the serious or even cyrus. The specific name of antigone
—after the daughter of Oedipus
, who hanged
herself—may relate to the bare skin of the head and neck.Johnsgard (1983) p. 239
s, the Sarus Crane is largely non-migratory; it may however make short-distance movements in response to rain or dry weather conditions. The only migratory population is in South-east Asia. Breeding pairs maintain territories that are defended from other cranes using a large repertoire of calls and displays. Non-breeding birds occur as flocks of various sizes that vary from 1–430 birds. In semi-arid areas, breeding pairs and successfully fledged juveniles depart from territories in the dry season and join non-breeding flocks. In areas with perennial water supply, like in the western plains of Uttar Pradesh, breeding pairs maintain perennial territories. The largest known flocks are from the 29 km2 Keoladeo National Park
– as many as 430 birds, and from wetlands in Etawah and Mainpuri districts in Uttar Pradesh, ranging from 245–412 birds. Flocks of over 100 birds are also regularly reported from Gujarat and Australia. During the breeding season, breeding pairs displace non-breeding birds from some wetland sites, and local populations can appear to decline. Sarus Crane populations in Keoladeo National Park have been noted to reduce from over 400 birds in summer to just 20 birds during the Monsoon
.
They roost in shallow water, where they may be safe from some ground predators. Adult birds do not moult
their feather
s annually and replace them only once every two or three years.
Sarus Cranes forage in shallow water (usually with less than 30 cm (1 ft) depth of water) or in fields, frequently probing in mud with their long bills. They are omnivorous
, eating insects (especially grasshoppers), aquatic plants, fish (perhaps only in captivity), frogs, crustaceans and seeds. Occasionally tackling larger vertebrate prey such as water snakes (Xenochrophis piscator
), Sarus Cranes may in rare cases feed on the eggs of birds and turtles. Plant matter eaten includes tubers, corms of aquatic plants, grass shoots as well as seeds and grains from cultivated crops such as groundnut
s and cereal crops such as rice.
that form coils within the sternal region. Pairs may indulge in spectacular displays of calling in unison and posturing. These include "dancing" movements that are performed both during and outside the breeding season and involve a short series of jumping and bowing movements made as one of the pair circles around the other. Dancing may also be a displacement activity
when the nest or young are threatened. The cranes breed mainly during the Monsoon
s in India (from July to October although there may be a second brood, and there are records of breeding in all the months and with the onset of the wet season in Australia. They build large nests, platforms made of reeds and vegetation in wet marshes or paddy fields. The nest is constructed within shallow water by piling up rushes, straw, grasses with their roots and mud so that the platform rises above the level of the water to form a little island. The nest is unconcealed and conspicuous, being visible from afar. The nests can be more than two metres (six feet) in diameter and nearly a metre (three feet) high. Pairs shows high fidelity to the nest site, often refurbishing and reusing nests for as many as five breeding season. The clutch
is one or two eggs (rarely three or four) which are incubated by both sexes for about 31 days (range
27–35 days). Eggs are chalky white and weigh about 240 grams. When disturbed from the nest, parents may sometimes attempt to conceal the eggs by attempting to cover them with material from the edge of the nest. The eggshells are removed by the parents after the chicks hatch either by carrying away the fragments or by swallowing them. The chicks are fed by the parents for the first few days but are able to feed independent after that and follow their parents for food. When alarmed, the parents cranes use a low korr-rr call that signals chicks to freeze and lie still. Young birds stay with their parents for more than three months. The Sarus is widely believed to pair for life, however cases of "divorce" and mate replacement have been recorded.
(Corvus macrorhynchos) and House Crow
s (C. splendens). In Australia, predators
of young birds include the dingo
(Canis dingo) and fox (Vulpes vulpes) while Brahminy Kite
s (Haliastur indus) have been known to take eggs. Removal of eggs by farmers (to reduce crop damage) or children (in play), or by migrant labourers for food are prominent causes of egg mortality. Between 31 and 42% of nests with eggs can fail to hatch eggs for this reason. Chicks are also prone to predation (estimated at about 8%) but more than 30% die of unknown reasons. Breeding success has been estimated at about 20%. In areas where farmers are tolerant, nests in flooded rice fields and those in wetlands have similar rates of survival. Pairs that nest later in the season have a lower chance of raising chicks successfully, but this improves when territories have more wetlands.
Little is known about the diseases and parasites of the Sarus Crane, and their effects on wild bird populations. A study conducted at the Rome zoo noted that these birds were resistant to anthrax
. Endoparasites that have been described include a trematode, Opisthorhis dendriticus from the liver of a captive crane at the London zoo and a Cyclocoelid
(Allopyge antigones) from an Australian bird. Like most birds, they have bird lice and the species recorded include Heleonomus laveryi and Esthiopterum indicum.
In captivity, Sarus Cranes have been known to live for as long as 42 years.Flower (1938) notes only 26 years in captivity Premature adult mortality is often the result of human actions. Accidental poisoning by monocrotophos
, chlorpyrifos
and dieldrin
-treated seeds used in agricultural areas has been noted. Adults have been known to fly into power lines and die of electrocution, this is responsible for killing about 1% of the local population each year.
_at_sultanpur_i_picture_151.jpg)
There were about an estimated 15–20,000 mature Sarus Cranes left in the wild in 2009. The Indian population is less than 10,000, but of the three subspecies, is the healthiest in terms of numbers. They are considered sacred and the birds are traditionally left unharmed, and in many areas they are unafraid of humans. They used to be found on occasion in Pakistan
, but have not been seen there since the late 1980s. The population in India has however declined. Estimates of the global population suggest that the population in 2000 was at best about 10% and at the worst just 2.5% of the numbers that existed in 1850. Many farmers in India believe that these cranes damage standing crops, particularly rice, although studies show that direct feeding on rice grains resulted in losses amounting to less than one percent and trampling could account for grain loss of about 0.4 –. The attitude of farmers tends to be positive in spite of these damages, and this has helped in conserving the species within agricultural areas. Compensating farmers for crop losses has been suggested as a measure that may help. The role of rice paddies may be particularly important for the birds' conservation, since natural wetlands are increasingly threatened by human activity. The Australian population is greater than 5,000 birds and may be increasing, however, the Southeast Asian subspecies has been decimated by war and habitat change (such as intensive agriculture and draining of wetlands) and by the mid-20th century had disappeared from large parts of its range which once stretched up to southern China
; some 1500–2000 birds are left in several fragmented subpopulations. The little-known Philippine population became extinct in the late 1960s.
The Sarus Crane is classified as Vulnerable
on the IUCN Red List
. Threats include habitat destruction and/or degradation, hunting and collecting, as well as environmental pollution and possibly diseases or competing species. The effects of inbreeding
in the Australian population may need to be studied.
The species has been extirpated in Malaysia, Philippines
and Thailand
. Reintroduction
programs planned in Thailand have made use of birds from Cambodia.
cursed a hunter for killing a Sarus Crane and was then inspired to write the epic Ramayana
. The species was a close contender to the Indian Peafowl
as the national bird of India. Among the Gondi people
, the tribes classified as "five-god worshippers" consider the Sarus Crane as sacred. The meat of the Sarus was considered taboo
in ancient Hindu scriptures. It is widely believed that the Sarus pairs for life and that death of one partner leads to the other pining to death. They are a symbol of marital virtue and in parts of Gujarat, it is a custom to take a newly wed couple to see a pair of Sarus Cranes. Being ubiquitous in the flood plains of the Ganges, observations on their biology had been made by the Mughal emperor
, Jahangir
around AD 1607. He noted, for instance, that the species always laid two eggs with an interval of 48 hours between them and that the incubation period was 34 days.
Although venerated and protected by Indians, these birds were hunted during the colonial period. It was noted that killing a bird would lead to its surviving partner trumpeting for many days and it was traditionally believed that the other would starve to death. Even sport hunting guides discouraged shooting these birds. According to 19th century British zoologist Thomas C. Jerdon
, young birds were said to be good eating, while older ones were "worthless for the table". Eggs of the Sarus Crane are however used in folk remedies
in some parts of India.
Young birds were often captured and kept in menagerie
s both in India and in Europe in former times. They were also successfully bred in captivity early in the 17th century by Emperor Jehangir and in Europe and the United States in the early 1930s.
An Indian 14-seater propeller aircraft, the Saras, is named after this crane.
Bird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
crane
Crane (bird)
Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back...
found in parts of the Indian Subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft), they are conspicuous and iconic species of open wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s. The Sarus Crane is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by the overall grey colour and the contrasting red head and upper neck. They forage on marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es and shallow wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s for root
Root
In vascular plants, the root is the organ of a plant that typically lies below the surface of the soil. This is not always the case, however, since a root can also be aerial or aerating . Furthermore, a stem normally occurring below ground is not exceptional either...
s, tuber
Tuber
Tubers are various types of modified plant structures that are enlarged to store nutrients. They are used by plants to survive the winter or dry months and provide energy and nutrients for regrowth during the next growing season and they are a means of asexual reproduction...
s, insects, crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s and small vertebrate prey. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair-bonds
Pair bond
In biology, a pair bond is the strong affinity that develops in some species between the males and females in a pair, potentially leading to breeding. Pair-bonding is a term coined in the 1940s that is frequently used in sociobiology and evolutionary psychology circles...
and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship displays
Display (zoology)
Display is a form of animal behaviour, linked to survival of the species in various ways. One example of display used by some species can be found in the form of courtship, with the male usually having a striking feature that is distinguished by colour, shape or size, used to attract a female...
that include loud trumpeting, leaps and dance-like movements. In India they are considered symbols of marital fidelity
Fidelity
"Fidelity" is the quality of being faithful or loyal. Its original meaning regarded duty to a lord or a king, in a broader sense than the related concept of fealty. Both derive from the Latin word fidēlis, meaning "faithful or loyal"....
, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of their mates even to the point of starving to death. The main breeding season is during the rainy season
Wet season
The the wet season, or rainy season, is the time of year, covering one or more months, when most of the average annual rainfall in a region occurs. The term green season is also sometimes used as a euphemism by tourist authorities. Areas with wet seasons are dispersed across portions of the...
, when the pair builds an enormous nest "island", a circular platform of reeds and grass
Grass
Grasses, or more technically graminoids, are monocotyledonous, usually herbaceous plants with narrow leaves growing from the base. They include the "true grasses", of the Poaceae family, as well as the sedges and the rushes . The true grasses include cereals, bamboo and the grasses of lawns ...
es nearly two metres in diameter and high enough to stay above the shallow water surrounding it. Sarus Crane numbers have declined greatly in the last century and it has been estimated that the current population is a tenth or less (perhaps 2.5%) of the numbers that existed in the 1850s. The stronghold of the species is India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, where it is traditionally revered and lives in agricultural lands in close proximity to humans. Elsewhere, the species has been extirpated in many parts of its former range
Range (biology)
In biology, the range or distribution of a species is the geographical area within which that species can be found. Within that range, dispersion is variation in local density.The term is often qualified:...
.
Description
Beak
The beak, bill or rostrum is an external anatomical structure of birds which is used for eating and for grooming, manipulating objects, killing prey, fighting, probing for food, courtship and feeding young...
. In flight, the long neck is held straight, unlike that of an heron
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
, which folds it back, and the black wing tips can be seen; the crane's long pink legs trail behind them. This bird has a grey ear covert
Covert (feather)
A covert feather on a bird is one of a set of feathers, called coverts, which as the name implies, cover other feathers. The coverts help to smooth airflow over the wings and tail.- Wing-coverts :...
patch, an orange-red iris
Iris (anatomy)
The iris is a thin, circular structure in the eye, responsible for controlling the diameter and size of the pupils and thus the amount of light reaching the retina. "Eye color" is the color of the iris, which can be green, blue, or brown. In some cases it can be hazel , grey, violet, or even pink...
and a greenish-grey bill. Juveniles have a yellowish base to the bill and the brown-grey head is fully feathered.
The bare red skin of the adult's head and neck is brighter during the breeding season. This skin is rough and covered by papillae
Hair follicle
A hair follicle is a skin organ that produces hair. Hair production occurs in phases, including a growth phase , and cessation phase , and a rest phase . Stem cells are principally responsible for the production of hair....
, and a narrow area around and behind the head is covered by black bristly feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s. The sexes do not differ in plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
although males are on average larger than females; male Sarus of the Indian population can attain a maximum height of about 180 cm (5.9 ft) making them the world's tallest extant flying bird. The weight of nominate race individuals is 6.8–7.8 kg (16 lb), while five adult sharpii averaged 8.4 kg (18.5 lb). Across the distribution range, the weight can vary from 5 to 12 kg (11–26 lbs), height typically from 115 to 167 cm (45–69 in) and the wingspan from 220 to 250 cm (87–100 in). Birds from Australia tend to be smaller than birds from the north.
In Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, the Sarus can easily be mistaken for the more widespread Brolga
Brolga
The Brolga , formerly known as the "Native Companion", is a bird in the crane family. The bird has also been given the name "Australian Crane", a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithological artist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.The Brolga is a common gregarious wetland bird species in...
. The Brolga has the red colouring confined to the head and not extending into the neck.
Distribution and habitat
The species has historically been widely distributed on the lowlands of India along the Gangetic plains, extending south to the Godavari RiverGodavari River
The Godavari is a river that runs from western to southern India and is considered to be one of the big river basins in India. With a length of 1465 km, it is the second longest river in India , that runs within the country and also the longest river in South India...
, west to coastal Gujarat, the Tharparkar District
Tharparkar District
Tharparkar District is one of twenty three districts of Sindh province in Pakistan. It is headquarters is at Mithi. It has the lowest Human Development Index of all districts in Sindh.-Demography:...
of Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, and east to West Bengal
West Bengal
West Bengal is a state in the eastern region of India and is the nation's fourth-most populous. It is also the seventh-most populous sub-national entity in the world, with over 91 million inhabitants. A major agricultural producer, West Bengal is the sixth-largest contributor to India's GDP...
and Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
. The species no longer breeds in the Punjab
Punjab region
The Punjab , also spelled Panjab |water]]s"), is a geographical region straddling the border between Pakistan and India which includes Punjab province in Pakistan and the states of the Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Chandigarh and some northern parts of the National Capital Territory of Delhi...
, though it occurs sporadically on the Indian side in winter. Sarus Cranes are rare and occur in very low numbers in West Bengal and Assam, and are no longer found in the state of Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
. In Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, its distribution is restricted to the western lowland plains, with most of the population occurring in Rupandehi
Rupandehi District
-Village Development Committees :*Aama*Aanandaban*Amari*Amawa Marchawar*Amuwa Paschim*Asurena*Babhani*Bagaha*Bagauli*Bairghat*Balarampur*Bangai*Bangai Marchwar*Baragadewa*Barsauli*Basantapur*Betakuiya*Bhagawanpur*Bisunpura*Bodabar*Bogadi...
, Kapilvastu
Kapilvastu District
Kapilvastu district of 481,976.-Geography:The district situated at the height of 93 to 1491 meters from sea level. Geographically, the district can be divided into plain low lands of terai and low Chure hills.Kapilvastu is bounded by-...
, and Nawalparasi districts
Nawalparasi District
Nawalparasi District of 562,870. This district has given birth to many Nepal's top level people including late Prime Minister Tanka Prasad Acharya...
.
There are two distinct populations of Sarus Cranes in South-east Asia: the northern population in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Burma, and the southern population in Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
and Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
. The Sarus used to extend to Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and further east into the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, but became extinct. In 2011, captive bred cranes were reintroduced into Thailand. In Australia they are found only in the northern parts, and are partly migratory in some areas. The global range has shrunk and the largest occupied area is now in India. With marsh
Marsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
lands largely destroyed, these cranes are increasingly dependent on wet paddy field
Paddy field
A paddy field is a flooded parcel of arable land used for growing rice and other semiaquatic crops. Paddy fields are a typical feature of rice farming in east, south and southeast Asia. Paddies can be built into steep hillsides as terraces and adjacent to depressed or steeply sloped features such...
s in India. Although now found mainly at a low elevation on the plains, there are some historical records from highland marshes further north in Harkit Sar and Kahag in Kashmir
Kashmir
Kashmir is the northwestern region of the Indian subcontinent. Until the mid-19th century, the term Kashmir geographically denoted only the valley between the Great Himalayas and the Pir Panjal mountain range...
. The Sarus Crane breeds in some high elevation regions such as near the Pong Dam
Maharana Pratap Sagar
Maharana Pratap Sagar , also known as Pong Dam Reservoir or Pong Dam Lake was created in 1975 building the highest earthfill dam in India on the Beas River in the wetland zone of the Siwalik Hills of the Kangra district of the state of Himachal Pradesh, in India.Named in the honour of the patriot...
in Himachal Pradesh, where populations may be growing in response to increasing rice cultivation along the reservoir.
Sarus Cranes preferentially use wetlands or uncultivated patches amid flooded rice paddies (locally called khet-taavadi) for nesting in India. Breeding pairs are territorial and prefer to forage in natural wetlands, though wet crops like rice and wheat are also frequented.
Taxonomy and systematics
This species was described by Linnaeus in 1758 and placed in the genus Ardea that included the larger herons. Edward BlythEdward Blyth
Edward Blyth was an English zoologist and pharmacist. He was one of the founders of zoology in India....
published a monograph
Monograph
A monograph is a work of writing upon a single subject, usually by a single author.It is often a scholarly essay or learned treatise, and may be released in the manner of a book or journal article. It is by definition a single document that forms a complete text in itself...
on the cranes in 1881 in which he considered the "Sarus Crane" of India to be made up of two species, Grus collaris and Grus antigone. Most modern authors recognise one species with three disjunct populations that have been treated as subspecies, although the status of one extinct population from the Philippines is uncertain. The nominate subspecies from India is the largest, and in the east from Myanmar is replaced by race
Race (biology)
In biology, races are distinct genetically divergent populations within the same species with relatively small morphological and genetic differences. The populations can be described as ecological races if they arise from adaptation to different local habitats or geographic races when they are...
sharpii that extends into the Southeast Asian islands. The nominate form from the Indian subcontinent
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
is well marked and differentiated by having a white collar below the bare head and upper neck, and white tertiary remiges. Some authors consider antigone and sharpii as representatives of a formerly continuous population that varied clinally. The race in Australia, initially placed in sharpii (sometimes spelt sharpei but amended to conform to the rules of Latin grammar
Latin grammar
The grammar of Latin, like that of other ancient Indo-European languages, is highly inflected; consequently, it allows for a large degree of flexibility in choosing word order...
) has been separated and named as the race gilliae (sometimes spelt gillae or even gilli). The Australian race was designated only in 1988, with the species itself first noticed in Australia in 1969 and regarded as a recent immigrant. Native Australians, however, differentiated the Sarus and the Brolga and called the Sarus "the crane that dips its head in blood". The Australian race has a distinctively darker plumage
Plumage
Plumage refers both to the layer of feathers that cover a bird and the pattern, colour, and arrangement of those feathers. The pattern and colours of plumage vary between species and subspecies and can also vary between different age classes, sexes, and season. Within species there can also be a...
and a larger grey patch of ear coverts.Meine & Archibald (1996) p. 126 This race is the most recently diverged with an estimated 3000 generations of breeding within Australia. An additional subspecies luzonica has been suggested for the population once found, but now extinct, in the Philippines. It may be synonymous
Synonym (taxonomy)
In scientific nomenclature, a synonym is a scientific name that is or was used for a taxon of organisms that also goes by a different scientific name. For example, Linnaeus was the first to give a scientific name to the Norway spruce, which he called Pinus abies...
with either gilliae or sharpii.
Mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA is the DNA located in organelles called mitochondria, structures within eukaryotic cells that convert the chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, adenosine triphosphate...
, from a limited number of specimens, suggested that there was gene flow
Gene flow
In population genetics, gene flow is the transfer of alleles of genes from one population to another.Migration into or out of a population may be responsible for a marked change in allele frequencies...
within the continental Asian populations until the 20th century reductions in range, and that Australia was colonized only in the Late Pleistocene
Late Pleistocene
The Late Pleistocene is a stage of the Pleistocene Epoch. The beginning of the stage is defined by the base of the Eemian interglacial phase before the final glacial episode of the Pleistocene 126,000 ± 5,000 years ago. The end of the stage is defined exactly at 10,000 Carbon-14 years BP...
, some 35000 years ago. This has been corroborated by nDNA microsatellite analyses with four times the sample size
Sample size
Sample size determination is the act of choosing the number of observations to include in a statistical sample. The sample size is an important feature of any empirical study in which the goal is to make inferences about a population from a sample...
. This study further suggests that the Australian population is quite inbred. As there exists the possibility of (limited) hybridization with the genetically distinct Brolga, the Australian Sarus Crane can be expected to be an incipient species.
Etymology
The common nameCommon name
A common name of a taxon or organism is a name in general use within a community; it is often contrasted with the scientific name for the same organism...
of sarus is from the Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
name ("sāras") for the species. The Hindi word is derived from the Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
word sarasa for the "lake bird", (sometimes corrupted to sārhans). While Indians held the species in veneration, British soldiers in colonial India hunted the bird, calling it the serious or even cyrus. The specific name of antigone
Antigone
In Greek mythology, Antigone is the daughter of Oedipus and Jocasta, Oedipus' mother. The name may be taken to mean "unbending", coming from "anti-" and "-gon / -gony" , but has also been suggested to mean "opposed to motherhood", "in place of a mother", or "anti-generative", based from the root...
—after the daughter of Oedipus
Oedipus
Oedipus was a mythical Greek king of Thebes. He fulfilled a prophecy that said he would kill his father and marry his mother, and thus brought disaster on his city and family...
, who hanged
Hanging
Hanging is the lethal suspension of a person by a ligature. The Oxford English Dictionary states that hanging in this sense is "specifically to put to death by suspension by the neck", though it formerly also referred to crucifixion and death by impalement in which the body would remain...
herself—may relate to the bare skin of the head and neck.Johnsgard (1983) p. 239
Ecology and behaviour
Unlike many other cranes that make long migrationBird migration
Bird migration is the regular seasonal journey undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather. Sometimes, journeys are not termed "true migration" because they are irregular or in only one direction...
s, the Sarus Crane is largely non-migratory; it may however make short-distance movements in response to rain or dry weather conditions. The only migratory population is in South-east Asia. Breeding pairs maintain territories that are defended from other cranes using a large repertoire of calls and displays. Non-breeding birds occur as flocks of various sizes that vary from 1–430 birds. In semi-arid areas, breeding pairs and successfully fledged juveniles depart from territories in the dry season and join non-breeding flocks. In areas with perennial water supply, like in the western plains of Uttar Pradesh, breeding pairs maintain perennial territories. The largest known flocks are from the 29 km2 Keoladeo National Park
Keoladeo National Park
The Keoladeo National Park or Keoladeo Ghana National Park formerly known as the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary in Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India is a famous avifauna sanctuary that plays host to thousands of birds especially during the winter season. Over 230 species of birds are known to have made the...
– as many as 430 birds, and from wetlands in Etawah and Mainpuri districts in Uttar Pradesh, ranging from 245–412 birds. Flocks of over 100 birds are also regularly reported from Gujarat and Australia. During the breeding season, breeding pairs displace non-breeding birds from some wetland sites, and local populations can appear to decline. Sarus Crane populations in Keoladeo National Park have been noted to reduce from over 400 birds in summer to just 20 birds during the Monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
.
They roost in shallow water, where they may be safe from some ground predators. Adult birds do not moult
Moult
In biology, moulting or molting , also known as sloughing, shedding, or for some species, ecdysis, is the manner in which an animal routinely casts off a part of its body , either at specific times of year, or at specific points in its life cycle.Moulting can involve the epidermis , pelage...
their feather
Feather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s annually and replace them only once every two or three years.
Feeding
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
, eating insects (especially grasshoppers), aquatic plants, fish (perhaps only in captivity), frogs, crustaceans and seeds. Occasionally tackling larger vertebrate prey such as water snakes (Xenochrophis piscator
Xenochrophis piscator
The Chequered Keelback or Asiatic Water Snake is a common species of non-venomous snake found in Asia.-Description:...
), Sarus Cranes may in rare cases feed on the eggs of birds and turtles. Plant matter eaten includes tubers, corms of aquatic plants, grass shoots as well as seeds and grains from cultivated crops such as groundnut
Peanut
The peanut, or groundnut , is a species in the legume or "bean" family , so it is not a nut. The peanut was probably first cultivated in the valleys of Peru. It is an annual herbaceous plant growing tall...
s and cereal crops such as rice.
Courtship and breeding
Sarus Cranes have loud trumpeting calls. These calls are, as in other cranes, produced by the elongated tracheaVertebrate trachea
In tetrapod anatomy the trachea, or windpipe, is a tube that connects the pharynx or larynx to the lungs, allowing the passage of air. It is lined with pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium cells with goblet cells that produce mucus...
that form coils within the sternal region. Pairs may indulge in spectacular displays of calling in unison and posturing. These include "dancing" movements that are performed both during and outside the breeding season and involve a short series of jumping and bowing movements made as one of the pair circles around the other. Dancing may also be a displacement activity
Displacement activity
A displacement activity is the result of two contradicting instincts in a particular situation. Birds, for example, may peck at grass when uncertain whether to attack or flee from an opponent; similarly, a human may scratch his or her head when they do not know which of two options to...
when the nest or young are threatened. The cranes breed mainly during the Monsoon
Monsoon
Monsoon is traditionally defined as a seasonal reversing wind accompanied by corresponding changes in precipitation, but is now used to describe seasonal changes in atmospheric circulation and precipitation associated with the asymmetric heating of land and sea...
s in India (from July to October although there may be a second brood, and there are records of breeding in all the months and with the onset of the wet season in Australia. They build large nests, platforms made of reeds and vegetation in wet marshes or paddy fields. The nest is constructed within shallow water by piling up rushes, straw, grasses with their roots and mud so that the platform rises above the level of the water to form a little island. The nest is unconcealed and conspicuous, being visible from afar. The nests can be more than two metres (six feet) in diameter and nearly a metre (three feet) high. Pairs shows high fidelity to the nest site, often refurbishing and reusing nests for as many as five breeding season. The clutch
Clutch (eggs)
A clutch of eggs refers to all the eggs produced by birds or reptiles, often at a single time, particularly those laid in a nest.In birds, destruction of a clutch by predators, , results in double-clutching...
is one or two eggs (rarely three or four) which are incubated by both sexes for about 31 days (range
Range (statistics)
In the descriptive statistics, the range is the length of the smallest interval which contains all the data. It is calculated by subtracting the smallest observation from the greatest and provides an indication of statistical dispersion.It is measured in the same units as the data...
27–35 days). Eggs are chalky white and weigh about 240 grams. When disturbed from the nest, parents may sometimes attempt to conceal the eggs by attempting to cover them with material from the edge of the nest. The eggshells are removed by the parents after the chicks hatch either by carrying away the fragments or by swallowing them. The chicks are fed by the parents for the first few days but are able to feed independent after that and follow their parents for food. When alarmed, the parents cranes use a low korr-rr call that signals chicks to freeze and lie still. Young birds stay with their parents for more than three months. The Sarus is widely believed to pair for life, however cases of "divorce" and mate replacement have been recorded.
Mortality factors
Eggs are often destroyed at the nest by JungleJungle Crow
The Jungle Crow , is a widespread Asian species of crow. They are very adaptable and are able to survive on a wide range of food sources making them capable of colonizing new areas due to which they are often considered a nuisance, especially on islands...
(Corvus macrorhynchos) and House Crow
House Crow
thumb|300px|Bangalore, IndiaThe House Crow , also known as the Colombo Crow is a common bird of the Crow family that is of Asian origin but now found in many parts of the world, where they arrived assisted by shipping. It is between the Jackdaw and the Carrion Crow in size but is relatively...
s (C. splendens). In Australia, predators
Predation
In ecology, predation describes a biological interaction where a predator feeds on its prey . Predators may or may not kill their prey prior to feeding on them, but the act of predation always results in the death of its prey and the eventual absorption of the prey's tissue through consumption...
of young birds include the dingo
Dingo
The Australian Dingo or Warrigal is a free-roaming wild dog unique to the continent of Australia, mainly found in the outback. Its original ancestors are thought to have arrived with humans from southeast Asia thousands of years ago, when dogs were still relatively undomesticated and closer to...
(Canis dingo) and fox (Vulpes vulpes) while Brahminy Kite
Brahminy Kite
The Brahminy Kite , also known as the Red-backed Sea-eagle, is a medium-sized bird of prey in the family Accipitridae, which also includes many other diurnal raptors such as eagles, buzzards and harriers. They are found in the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia and Australia...
s (Haliastur indus) have been known to take eggs. Removal of eggs by farmers (to reduce crop damage) or children (in play), or by migrant labourers for food are prominent causes of egg mortality. Between 31 and 42% of nests with eggs can fail to hatch eggs for this reason. Chicks are also prone to predation (estimated at about 8%) but more than 30% die of unknown reasons. Breeding success has been estimated at about 20%. In areas where farmers are tolerant, nests in flooded rice fields and those in wetlands have similar rates of survival. Pairs that nest later in the season have a lower chance of raising chicks successfully, but this improves when territories have more wetlands.
Little is known about the diseases and parasites of the Sarus Crane, and their effects on wild bird populations. A study conducted at the Rome zoo noted that these birds were resistant to anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
. Endoparasites that have been described include a trematode, Opisthorhis dendriticus from the liver of a captive crane at the London zoo and a Cyclocoelid
Cyclocoelidae
The Cyclocoelidae are a family of parasitic flatworms. They are placed in the monotypic suborder Cyclocoelata of the order Echinostomida....
(Allopyge antigones) from an Australian bird. Like most birds, they have bird lice and the species recorded include Heleonomus laveryi and Esthiopterum indicum.
In captivity, Sarus Cranes have been known to live for as long as 42 years.Flower (1938) notes only 26 years in captivity Premature adult mortality is often the result of human actions. Accidental poisoning by monocrotophos
Monocrotophos
Monocrotophos is an organophosphate insecticide. It is acutely toxic to birds and humans, and for that reason has been banned in the U.S. and many other countries...
, chlorpyrifos
Chlorpyrifos
Chlorpyrifos is a crystalline organophosphate insecticide that inhibits acetylcholinesterase and is used to control insect pests. It is known by many trade names...
and dieldrin
Dieldrin
Dieldrin is a chlorinated hydrocarbon originally produced in 1948 by J. Hyman & Co, Denver, as an insecticide. Dieldrin is closely related to aldrin, which reacts further to form dieldrin. Aldrin is not toxic to insects; it is oxidized in the insect to form dieldrin which is the active compound...
-treated seeds used in agricultural areas has been noted. Adults have been known to fly into power lines and die of electrocution, this is responsible for killing about 1% of the local population each year.
Conservation status
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, but have not been seen there since the late 1980s. The population in India has however declined. Estimates of the global population suggest that the population in 2000 was at best about 10% and at the worst just 2.5% of the numbers that existed in 1850. Many farmers in India believe that these cranes damage standing crops, particularly rice, although studies show that direct feeding on rice grains resulted in losses amounting to less than one percent and trampling could account for grain loss of about 0.4 –. The attitude of farmers tends to be positive in spite of these damages, and this has helped in conserving the species within agricultural areas. Compensating farmers for crop losses has been suggested as a measure that may help. The role of rice paddies may be particularly important for the birds' conservation, since natural wetlands are increasingly threatened by human activity. The Australian population is greater than 5,000 birds and may be increasing, however, the Southeast Asian subspecies has been decimated by war and habitat change (such as intensive agriculture and draining of wetlands) and by the mid-20th century had disappeared from large parts of its range which once stretched up to southern China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
; some 1500–2000 birds are left in several fragmented subpopulations. The little-known Philippine population became extinct in the late 1960s.
The Sarus Crane is classified as Vulnerable
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
. Threats include habitat destruction and/or degradation, hunting and collecting, as well as environmental pollution and possibly diseases or competing species. The effects of inbreeding
Inbreeding
Inbreeding is the reproduction from the mating of two genetically related parents. Inbreeding results in increased homozygosity, which can increase the chances of offspring being affected by recessive or deleterious traits. This generally leads to a decreased fitness of a population, which is...
in the Australian population may need to be studied.
The species has been extirpated in Malaysia, Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
. Reintroduction
Reintroduction
Reintroduction is the deliberate release of a species into the wild in zones formerly inhabited by said species but where it has disappeared from for a number of reasons, from captivity or relocated from other areas where the species still survives in...
programs planned in Thailand have made use of birds from Cambodia.
In culture
The species is venerated in India and legend has it that the poet ValmikiValmiki
Valmiki is celebrated as the poet harbinger in Sanskrit literature. He is the author of the epic Ramayana, based on the attribution in the text of the epic itself. He is revered as the Adi Kavi, which means First Poet, for he discovered the first śloka i.e...
cursed a hunter for killing a Sarus Crane and was then inspired to write the epic Ramayana
Ramayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
. The species was a close contender to the Indian Peafowl
Indian Peafowl
The Indian Peafowl or Blue Peafowl is a large and brightly coloured bird of the pheasant family native to South Asia, but introduced and semi-feral in many other parts of the world...
as the national bird of India. Among the Gondi people
Gondi people
The Gondi, Goindi or Gond people are people in central India, spread over the states of Madhya Pradesh, eastern Maharashtra , Chhattisgarh, northern Andhra Pradesh, and Western Orissa. With over four million people, they are the largest tribe in Central India.The Gondi language is related to...
, the tribes classified as "five-god worshippers" consider the Sarus Crane as sacred. The meat of the Sarus was considered taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
in ancient Hindu scriptures. It is widely believed that the Sarus pairs for life and that death of one partner leads to the other pining to death. They are a symbol of marital virtue and in parts of Gujarat, it is a custom to take a newly wed couple to see a pair of Sarus Cranes. Being ubiquitous in the flood plains of the Ganges, observations on their biology had been made by the Mughal emperor
Mughal Empire
The Mughal Empire , or Mogul Empire in traditional English usage, was an imperial power from the Indian Subcontinent. The Mughal emperors were descendants of the Timurids...
, Jahangir
Jahangir
Jahangir was the ruler of the Mughal Empire from 1605 until his death. The name Jahangir is from Persian جهانگیر,meaning "Conqueror of the World"...
around AD 1607. He noted, for instance, that the species always laid two eggs with an interval of 48 hours between them and that the incubation period was 34 days.
Although venerated and protected by Indians, these birds were hunted during the colonial period. It was noted that killing a bird would lead to its surviving partner trumpeting for many days and it was traditionally believed that the other would starve to death. Even sport hunting guides discouraged shooting these birds. According to 19th century British zoologist Thomas C. Jerdon
Thomas C. Jerdon
Thomas Caverhill Jerdon was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He is best remembered for his pioneering works on the ornithology of India...
, young birds were said to be good eating, while older ones were "worthless for the table". Eggs of the Sarus Crane are however used in folk remedies
Folk medicine
-Description:Refers to healing practices and ideas of body physiology and health preservation known to a limited segment of the population in a culture, transmitted informally as general knowledge, and practiced or applied by anyone in the culture having prior experience.All cultures and societies...
in some parts of India.
Young birds were often captured and kept in menagerie
Menagerie
A menagerie is/was a form of keeping common and exotic animals in captivity that preceded the modern zoological garden. The term was first used in seventeenth century France in reference to the management of household or domestic stock. Later, it came to be used primarily in reference to...
s both in India and in Europe in former times. They were also successfully bred in captivity early in the 17th century by Emperor Jehangir and in Europe and the United States in the early 1930s.
An Indian 14-seater propeller aircraft, the Saras, is named after this crane.
Other sources
- Matthiessen, PeterPeter MatthiessenPeter Matthiessen is a two-time National Book Award-winning American novelist and non-fiction writer, as well as an environmental activist...
& Bateman, Robert (2001). The Birds of Heaven: Travels with Cranes. North Point Press, New York. ISBN 0-374-19944-2 - Haigh, J. C. and Holt, P. E. (1976). The use of the anaesthetic "CT1341" in a Sarus crane. Can Vet J. 17 (11): 291–292. full text
- Duan, W. and Fuerst, P. A. (2001). Isolation of a sex-Linked DNA sequence in cranes. J. Hered. 92 (5): 392–397.
- Menon, G. K., R. V. Shah, and M. B. Jani. (1980). Observations on integumentary modifications and feathering on head and neck of the Sarus Crane, Grus antigone antigone. Pavo 18: 10–16.
- Sundar, K. S. G. (2006). Flock size, density and habitat selection of four large waterbirds species in an agricultural landscape in Uttar Pradesh, India: implications for management. Waterbirds 29 (3): 365–374.
External links
- International Crane FoundationInternational Crane FoundationThe International Crane Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to the study and conservation of the 15 species of cranes. Founded in 1973, ICF moved to its current headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin, in 1984....
: Sarus Crane, Grus antigone. Retrieved 2007-FEB-22. - USGS Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center: The Cranes Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: Sarus Crane (Grus antigone). Retrieved 2007-FEB-22.
- Sarus Crane (International Crane Foundation)
- International Crane Foundation (literature)
- Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) from Cranes of the World (1983) by Paul Johnsgard
- Arkive