The white-naped crane (Antigone vipio) is a bird in the crane family, Gruidae. It breeds in shallow wetlands and wet meadows in northeastern Mongolia, northeastern China, and adjacent areas of southeastern Russia. It is a large bird measuring 112–125 cm (44–49 in) long, about 130 cm (4.3 ft) tall, and weighing about 5.6 kg (12 lb), with pinkish legs, a grey-and-white-striped neck, and a red face patch.
Taxonomy
The white-naped crane was formerly placed in the genus Grus, but a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus, as then defined, was polyphyletic. In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, four species: the sarus crane (Antigone antigone), the brolga (Antigone rubicunda), the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis) and the white-naped crane (Antigone vipio), were placed in the resurrected genus Antigone that had originally been erected by German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1853.
Description
The white-naped crane can be identified by its grey body, reddish face patch, white throat, and the white strip going from the back of its crown down its neck, or nape. Juveniles differ by having a brown head and a pale throat. While this crane does have other species in its genus with similar characteristics, it can be distinguished by the white nape that is not present in the other species.
The white-naped crane emits a variety of different calls: a growling contact call, or high pitched call at short ranges, and loud calls which differ between sexes. The loud calls include aggressive guard calls and flight intention calls.
There are two main wintering populations of this species: one that winters near the Yangtze River in China, and the other in the Korean Demilitarized Zone (as well as in the island of Kyūshū in Japan). Counts are done multiple times throughout the winter to study their movement patterns. Eggs are laid for two months, between April and the end of May. When chicks are born, they are a brownish-yellow colour with dark spots, and remain fledglings for 70–75 days. They will become sexually mature between the ages of 2 and 3 years old.
Diet
During the breeding season, their diet mainly consists of wetland plants, tubers and roots. While wintering or during migration, they will also feed on rice and cereal grains, as well as more waste grain. They will stand in place and dig for the deeper vegetation, which contrasts with the feeding behaviour of the red-crowned crane, which will walk around and pick at the surface vegetation. This difference is important as it allows both species of crane to occupy similar niches, without competition between them.
Status and conservation
The white-naped crane is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List,