En - The Common Crane

Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758), the common crane, is the largest wading bird in Europe (115 cm high with a wingspan of up to 240 cm). Its plumage is uniformly gray with a head, but the head and upper neck are black, leaving a white stripe from the eye to the back of the neck in adults. The back of the neck has a bright red spot which is in fact an area of ​​bare skin under which the blood is more or less flush.

The Common Crane is a powerful bird capable of migrating over 2000 km. The migratory flights are V- or Y-shaped as well as its specific call are well known. They announce the arrival of cold weather or, in the other direction, the return of spring. It usually spends the winter in North Africa and especially in Spain.

Since around the 2000s, some birds have been wintering in France (western fringes of New Aquitaine in particular), but this phenomenon has not been observed in Miallet.

The diet is omnivorous. During the reproduction period and at the beginning of the growth period of the young, the diet is essentially animal (insects, molluscs and small vertebrates). Gradually, the young will consume more plants. During migration and wintering, the crane is almost exclusively seed-eating.

In France and Europe, the species is protected and listed on the red list.

Find out more: National Natural Heritage Inventory (INPN) website >>