The bird genus Balearica (also called the crowned cranes or Balearic cranes) contains two extant species in the crane family Gruidae: the black crowned crane (B. pavonina) and the grey crowned crane (B. regulorum). The name is from the Latin Baliaricus for "of the Balearic Islands".
The crane family (Gruidae) is divided into the subfamily Gruinae of typical cranes and the subfamily Balearicinae of crowned cranes.
Extant species
Fossil record
Crowned cranes seem to have been more widespread prehistorically. Compared to the true cranes, genus Grus, which were always common in the Holarctic and adjacent regions, the present genus appears to have had a more Atlantic distribution, ranging into Europe and North America; it is not known from the fossil record of Asia and South America, as none have yet been discovered.
- Balearica rummeli <small>(Mlíkovský, J 1998)</small> (Early Miocene of Germany) – formerly Basityto
- Balearica excelsa <small>(Milne-Edwards, 1871)</small> (Early–Middle Miocene of France) – formerly Grus and Ornithocnemus
- Balearica exigua <small>Feduccia & Voorhies, 1992</small> (Miocene of Nebraska)