The Grey Crowned Cranes of Hwange National Park

[WRITER: Sean Hind (Safaris I Can See) ] [ PHOTO: Sean Hind ]

Elegant, tall and almost regal in their gait, the Grey Crowned-crane (Balearica regulorum) lives up to its name in appearance with the golden ‘crown’ of feathers standing stiffly around its head. Listed as Endangered on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the Grey Crowned Crane has been facing increased threats such as habitat loss and degradation, disturbance from livestock and people during their breeding season, and the illegal removal of birds and eggs from the wild.

Over the period 2018 – 2019, led by Birdlife Zimbabwe and implemented with additional support from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZPWMA), non-governmental institutions and local community groups as well as the African Crane Conservation Programme, which is responsible for coordinating the implementation of the AEWA International Single Species Action Plan (ISSAP) for the Grey Crowned-crane, a project was carried out to verify specific threats to the species in the country, as well as determine their presence and geographical distribution in key known wetlands and other sites with potential to host the species. The project included Hwange National Park as one of the country’s strongest populations of Grey Crowned cranes.

As fascinating in their behaviour as they are in their beauty, Grey Crowned Cranes are monogamous and once they meet their mate, they dance together in their courtship, a mesmerizing “waltz” which includes bobbing their heads and leaping into the air up to an estimated 3 meters, with wings spread and legs dangling, whilst preening one another’s necks – behaviour which is said to strengthen their bond. Extremely territorial during the breeding season, which usually takes place during the rainy months (December through to April), they move away from the flock and build nests along the edges of wetlands, where they can lay up to four eggs at a time. In some Southern African cultures it is believed that the Grey Crowned Crane is responsible for calling on the rains.

The chicks leave the nest within hours of hatching, staying in a 100m vicinity of the nest for about two weeks. They generally learn to fly when they are between 56 – 100 days old, and only become independent after an estimated 120 days.

In flight, the Grey Crowned Crane resembles a large parachute, its impressive wings spread wide with slow downward strokes and quick upward strokes. Before taking flight, the cranes need to do a run-up to gain some speed and momentum. Their booming call echoing across the wetlands, which involves inflation of the red gular sac around their throats, can make them easy to distinguish even before getting visual of them.

The grey crowned crane spends most of its day foraging for food and stamping their feet to find it. Their omnivorous diet includes grass tips, seeds, and grains. As well as small vertebrates and insects, snakes, worms, aquatic animals’ eggs, small fish and invertebrates.

The cranes stamp their feet while walking to coax insects out of their grassy hiding places. Given that seeds make up a portion of grey crowned crane diets, they are important seed dispersers for the ecosystem.

Seeing these iconic grey crowned cranes in the wild is becoming increasingly rare and as their population numbers dwindle, the opportunity to spot these beautiful birds does too. Thankfully Hwange National Park continues to maintain a healthy population, and the rainy season in particular is one of the prime times to enjoy watching these majestic and elegant birds.