Grus grus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	GRUIFORMES	GRUIDAE

Scientific Name:

Grus grus

Species Authority:

(Linnaeus, 1758)

Common Name/s:

English	–	Common Crane, Crane
French	–	Grue cendrée

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Assessed:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). The population trend is not known, but the population is not believed to be decreasing sufficiently rapidly to approach the thresholds under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern

Geographic Range [top]

Countries:	Native: Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Belarus; Belgium; Bhutan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Cambodia; Canada; China; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Egypt; Eritrea; Estonia; Ethiopia; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Hungary; India; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Italy; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Kyrgyzstan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Latvia; Lebanon; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Malta; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Myanmar; Nepal; Netherlands; Norway; Oman; Pakistan; Palestinian Territory, Occupied; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Saudi Arabia; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sudan; Sweden; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Tajikistan; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States; Uzbekistan; Viet Nam; Yemen Vagrant: Djibouti; Faroe Islands; Gibraltar; Hong Kong; Iceland; Ireland; Kuwait; Liechtenstein; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Qatar; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; United Arab Emirates
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Countries:

Native:

Afghanistan; Albania; Algeria; Armenia; Azerbaijan; Bahrain; Bangladesh; Belarus; Belgium; Bhutan; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Bulgaria; Cambodia; Canada; China; Croatia; Cyprus; Czech Republic; Denmark; Egypt; Eritrea; Estonia; Ethiopia; Finland; France; Georgia; Germany; Greece; Hungary; India; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Israel; Italy; Japan; Jordan; Kazakhstan; Korea, Democratic People's Republic of; Korea, Republic of; Kyrgyzstan; Lao People's Democratic Republic; Latvia; Lebanon; Libyan Arab Jamahiriya; Lithuania; Luxembourg; Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of; Malta; Mongolia; Montenegro; Morocco; Myanmar; Nepal; Netherlands; Norway; Oman; Pakistan; Palestinian Territory, Occupied; Poland; Portugal; Romania; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Russian Federation; Saudi Arabia; Serbia; Slovakia; Slovenia; Spain; Sudan; Sweden; Switzerland; Syrian Arab Republic; Tajikistan; Tunisia; Turkey; Turkmenistan; Ukraine; United Kingdom; United States; Uzbekistan; Viet Nam; Yemen

Vagrant:

Djibouti; Faroe Islands; Gibraltar; Hong Kong; Iceland; Ireland; Kuwait; Liechtenstein; Mauritania; Niger; Nigeria; Qatar; Svalbard and Jan Mayen; United Arab Emirates

Range Map:

Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour This species is fully migratory, although isolated breeding populations east and south of the Black Sea may be resident or only undertake local movements⁵. It usually migrates on a narrow front, utilising two major migration routes (south-west, and south to south-east passages across Europe) and uses regular staging areas⁵. Family groups and non-breeding birds begin to migrate in July, but the majority of the species migrate in early September, arriving in African wintering grounds during October. The species returns to its breeding areas in March⁶, where breeding begins in late April or early May, occasionally up to three weeks earlier in southern areas⁵. It is gregarious for much of the year, migrating in flocks of between 10-50 to 400 birds (Africa) and congregating in groups of few to 1,000 birds in the non-breeding season^{1, 2}, exceptionally it gathers in flocks of up to 4,000 during the moulting period¹. Whilst breeding, pairs are solitary with large nesting territories, although immature and unmated birds may remain in groups of 6-10 individuals¹. Every two years adults undergo a complete moulting period, after breeding but before leaving for wintering grounds, throughout which they are flightless for around six weeks². This species is diurnal, feeding during the day and roosting during the night on the ground or in water in large numbers (the same roost is often used every night, and sometimes every year)^{1, 2}. Habitat Breeding During the breeding season this species utilises a wide variety of shallow wetlands, including high altitude, treeless moors or bogs (where the main vegetation is Sphagnum moss or Ericaceae) usually with some standing water, and swampy forest clearings, reedy marshes and rice paddies¹. The species requires inaccessible ground nesting-sites, so is commonly associated with quaking bogs and other impassible mires, especially in the vicinity of Alnus carr woodland or seasonally flooded riverine forest¹. In Central Asia the species may use drier forested areas (such as pine or mixed birch/pine woodland) if water is readily available¹, but it generally avoids heavily wooded areas². The species moults in its breeding habitat after breeding, specifically requiring shallow waters or high reed cover for concealment during this vulnerable flightless period¹. Non-breeding The non-breeding wintering and migration habitats of the species include floodland, swampy meadows, shallow sheltered bays, rice paddies¹, pastures and savannah-like areas (such as open holm oak woodlands in the Iberian Peninsula)⁴. The species may also be found roosting on mudflats or sandbanks along rivers, lakes and reservoirs during this season^{2, 4} and undertake flights of up to 20 km¹ to forage in agricultural fields^{6, 4} (due to human encroachment and destruction of its preferred habitats)¹. Diet The species is omnivorous in both breeding and non-breeding seasons, the plant component of its diet consisting of grass roots and shoots, rhizomes, tubers (e.g. potatoes), the leaves of crops and wild herbs (e.g. brassicas, clover, nettle, chickweed), pondweed, the berries of Empetrum and Vaccinium, cereal grain (e.g. wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, rice), peas, olives, acorns, cedarnuts, groundnuts Arachis, and the pods of Cajanus^{1, 2}. Animal matter in this species' diet includes adult (beetles, flies) and larval (Lepidoptera) insects, snails, earthworms, millipedes, spiders, woodlice, frogs, slow-worms, lizards, snakes, small mammals (rodents and shrews), fish and occasionally the eggs and young of small birds^{1, 2}. Breeding site The nest is a mound of wetland vegetation (which may be re-used from year to year), generally placed in or near water in inaccessible undisturbed bog, heath, marsh, mire^{1, 2}, or sedge meadow⁸. Management information The removal of willow bushes, reeds and bog grass from areas in the "Kremmener Luch" nature reserve, central Germany, has been successful in providing suitable roosting sites with wide panoramic views which have attracted the species to the area⁸. The vegetation was removed during the winter months: willow bushes being cut off and poisoned with arboricid, bog grass being burnt down and reeds being mechanically cut⁸. Other management efforts in western Europe include the burial or relocation of utility lines, and programs to encourage the planting of lure crops and the use of waste grain for diversionary feeding (away from agricultural crops)⁴.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour This species is fully migratory, although isolated breeding populations east and south of the Black Sea may be resident or only undertake local movements⁵. It usually migrates on a narrow front, utilising two major migration routes (south-west, and south to south-east passages across Europe) and uses regular staging areas⁵. Family groups and non-breeding birds begin to migrate in July, but the majority of the species migrate in early September, arriving in African wintering grounds during October. The species returns to its breeding areas in March⁶, where breeding begins in late April or early May, occasionally up to three weeks earlier in southern areas⁵. It is gregarious for much of the year, migrating in flocks of between 10-50 to 400 birds (Africa) and congregating in groups of few to 1,000 birds in the non-breeding season^{1, 2}, exceptionally it gathers in flocks of up to 4,000 during the moulting period¹. Whilst breeding, pairs are solitary with large nesting territories, although immature and unmated birds may remain in groups of 6-10 individuals¹. Every two years adults undergo a complete moulting period, after breeding but before leaving for wintering grounds, throughout which they are flightless for around six weeks². This species is diurnal, feeding during the day and roosting during the night on the ground or in water in large numbers (the same roost is often used every night, and sometimes every year)^{1, 2}. Habitat Breeding During the breeding season this species utilises a wide variety of shallow wetlands, including high altitude, treeless moors or bogs (where the main vegetation is Sphagnum moss or Ericaceae) usually with some standing water, and swampy forest clearings, reedy marshes and rice paddies¹. The species requires inaccessible ground nesting-sites, so is commonly associated with quaking bogs and other impassible mires, especially in the vicinity of Alnus carr woodland or seasonally flooded riverine forest¹. In Central Asia the species may use drier forested areas (such as pine or mixed birch/pine woodland) if water is readily available¹, but it generally avoids heavily wooded areas². The species moults in its breeding habitat after breeding, specifically requiring shallow waters or high reed cover for concealment during this vulnerable flightless period¹. Non-breeding The non-breeding wintering and migration habitats of the species include floodland, swampy meadows, shallow sheltered bays, rice paddies¹, pastures and savannah-like areas (such as open holm oak woodlands in the Iberian Peninsula)⁴. The species may also be found roosting on mudflats or sandbanks along rivers, lakes and reservoirs during this season^{2, 4} and undertake flights of up to 20 km¹ to forage in agricultural fields^{6, 4} (due to human encroachment and destruction of its preferred habitats)¹. Diet The species is omnivorous in both breeding and non-breeding seasons, the plant component of its diet consisting of grass roots and shoots, rhizomes, tubers (e.g. potatoes), the leaves of crops and wild herbs (e.g. brassicas, clover, nettle, chickweed), pondweed, the berries of Empetrum and Vaccinium, cereal grain (e.g. wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, rice), peas, olives, acorns, cedarnuts, groundnuts Arachis, and the pods of Cajanus^{1, 2}. Animal matter in this species' diet includes adult (beetles, flies) and larval (Lepidoptera) insects, snails, earthworms, millipedes, spiders, woodlice, frogs, slow-worms, lizards, snakes, small mammals (rodents and shrews), fish and occasionally the eggs and young of small birds^{1, 2}. Breeding site The nest is a mound of wetland vegetation (which may be re-used from year to year), generally placed in or near water in inaccessible undisturbed bog, heath, marsh, mire^{1, 2}, or sedge meadow⁸. Management information The removal of willow bushes, reeds and bog grass from areas in the "Kremmener Luch" nature reserve, central Germany, has been successful in providing suitable roosting sites with wide panoramic views which have attracted the species to the area⁸. The vegetation was removed during the winter months: willow bushes being cut off and poisoned with arboricid, bog grass being burnt down and reeds being mechanically cut⁸. Other management efforts in western Europe include the burial or relocation of utility lines, and programs to encourage the planting of lure crops and the use of waste grain for diversionary feeding (away from agricultural crops)⁴.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater; Marine

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	In both its breeding and non-breeding ranges this species is principally threatened by habitat loss and degradation through dam construction, urbanisation and agricultural expansion (including changes in land-use, intensification, expanded irrigation systems and conversion of traditional holm oak pastures)⁴. Breeding In parts of its breeding range that are heavily developed the species is threatened by nest disturbance from tourism and recreation which reduces its breeding success by increasing the incidence of successful nest predation by corvids, wild boar and foxes⁴. Egg collecting is also a threat to the breeding population in Turkey⁴. Non-breeding Along its migrational routes and in its wintering grounds the Common Crane is particularly threatened by habitat fragmentation and the loss of many smaller traditional feeding and roosting sites, leading to increasing concentrations of large flocks in smaller areas, and therefore increased competition^{1, 3, 4}. Pesticide poisoning may also be affecting cranes along migration routes and in some wintering areas, especially where they depend primarily on grain from agricultural fields⁴. Collisions with utility lines are frequent in highly developed areas along migration routes and in winter ranges (collisions being the leading cause of adult mortality at wintering areas in Spain)⁴. Hunting is a significant threat to this species on migration (e.g. through Afghanistan and Pakistan)^{4, 7} and illegal shooting has been identified as a problem in other areas (including Portugal, southeast Europe, Egypt and Sudan)⁴.

Major Threat(s):

In both its breeding and non-breeding ranges this species is principally threatened by habitat loss and degradation through dam construction, urbanisation and agricultural expansion (including changes in land-use, intensification, expanded irrigation systems and conversion of traditional holm oak pastures)⁴. Breeding In parts of its breeding range that are heavily developed the species is threatened by nest disturbance from tourism and recreation which reduces its breeding success by increasing the incidence of successful nest predation by corvids, wild boar and foxes⁴. Egg collecting is also a threat to the breeding population in Turkey⁴. Non-breeding Along its migrational routes and in its wintering grounds the Common Crane is particularly threatened by habitat fragmentation and the loss of many smaller traditional feeding and roosting sites, leading to increasing concentrations of large flocks in smaller areas, and therefore increased competition^{1, 3, 4}. Pesticide poisoning may also be affecting cranes along migration routes and in some wintering areas, especially where they depend primarily on grain from agricultural fields⁴. Collisions with utility lines are frequent in highly developed areas along migration routes and in winter ranges (collisions being the leading cause of adult mortality at wintering areas in Spain)⁴. Hunting is a significant threat to this species on migration (e.g. through Afghanistan and Pakistan)^{4, 7} and illegal shooting has been identified as a problem in other areas (including Portugal, southeast Europe, Egypt and Sudan)⁴.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Grus grus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 08 February 2012.
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