Red-crowned crane facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Red-crowned crane
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Class:	Aves
Order:	Gruiformes
Family:	Gruidae
Genus:	Grus
Binomial name
Grus japonensis

The red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) is a beautiful, large bird. It is also known as the Japanese crane or Manchurian crane. This amazing bird is the second rarest crane on Earth. Only the North American whooping crane is rarer.

In East Asia, people see the red-crowned crane as a symbol of good luck and loyalty. These cranes can stand very tall, about 55 inches high. This makes them hard for predators to catch. They are easy to spot in their homes, which are marshes and swamps. When a red-crowned crane grows up, it has bright white feathers. It also has a special patch of red skin on its head.

Where Red-crowned Cranes Live

In spring and summer, red-crowned cranes live in Siberia. This is where their eggs hatch. A female crane usually lays two eggs. However, most of the time, only one baby crane survives.

Crane Migration and Homes

When autumn arrives, these cranes migrate in large groups. They fly to countries like Korea, Japan, China, and Taiwan. They spend the colder winter months in these East Asian places. Almost all red-crowned cranes migrate. But one group stays in Hokkaido, Japan, all year long.

What Red-crowned Cranes Eat

Red-crowned cranes are not picky eaters. They find their food in marshes and swamps. Their diet includes small amphibians like frogs. They also eat tiny water creatures called aquatic invertebrates. Insects and different kinds of plants that grow in wet areas are also part of their meals.

Images for kids

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  At Cumberland wildlife park, Grünau im Almtal, Austria

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  Grus japonensis (juvenile) in Ueno Zoo, Taitō, Japan

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  Range of Grus japonensis. Green: Spring & Summer, Red: Autumn & Winter, Yellow: Breeding

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  Eating fish in kushiro.

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  Red-crowned cranes flying

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  Cranes honking

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  Egg of a Red-crowned crane

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  The official logo of Japan Airlines features a red-crowned crane.

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  One Hundred Famous Views of Edo, 1857 Hiroshige

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  The crane is carved in a South Korean 500 won coin.

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  Silver silk covered jar with pine crane pattern

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  Cloud crane lotus pattern fumigation oven

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  Bronze mirror with pine and crane pattern

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  Bronze sculptures of tortoise and crane in Wanshou Palace of Nanchang

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  The treasure box of the picture of picking red and releasing crane in Qianlong period of Qing Dynasty

See also

In Spanish: Grulla de coronilla roja para niños