Indian States
Jammu
& Kashmir
Ladakh
( Wildlife )
(
Black Nacked Crane )
Of
the 15 crane species in the world the black necked crane
(Grus nigricollis) is perhaps the only one that has eluded
the scrutiny of both professional biologist and amateur
naturalist. Till today, therefore, it retains an aura of
mystery. Discovered relatively recently in 1876, by the
Russian naturalist / explorer,
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Count Prezhwalski, this bird has an exclusive distributional
breeding range between the altitudes of 3500 meters to 5500
meters in the tablelands of Central Asia. Its migratory patterns
are equally unique. Cranes have been recorded from eastern
Ladakh, southern Tibet, Bhutan, Arunachal Pradesh to Szechwan,
Yunan and vietnam. A review of available data suggests that
there are two distinct populations polarized on either extreme
of the Tibetan tableland and a winter dispersal pattern that
looks like a crescent on a map. The eastern population, which
moves along a north-south course, has a clear-cut breeding
area in the high altitudes and a wintering area of at least
1000- km, in the lowlands of Vietnam. In contrast, the western
population is rather confusing. Breeding and passage areas
seem to overlap along a crescent shaped tangent from Ladakh
to the lower hills of north-eastern India. Our knowledge of
birds in these areas, however, is rather scanty and judging
from the records available, it is assumed that somewhere beyond
the bamboo curtain, safe from international intrigue, the
cranes are fairly plentiful! Recent information which surfaced
during the International Ornithological Congress in Moscow,
in August 1982. |
Habitat
Biologically, everything about the crane group, Gruidae, seems
to indicate that the birds are of very old origin having appeared
on earth some 60 million years before man. Now, probably, they are
on their way out. They are not found in abundance anywhere except
in several Buddhist countries like Japan and Korea, where they receive
socio-religious protection. Small groups of cranes do exist elsewhere
in Asia, Europe, Africa, North America and Australia, but nowhere
in South America, the Malayan archipelago, Pacific Islands or New
Zealand. Most species of cranes are migratory and some of them travel
awesome distances each year. As for the black-necked crane, it chooses
to migrate to higher altitudes to nest.
Vital
statistics
Large and stately, the inhabitants of open marshlands, wet plains,
prairies and occasionally sandy flats, the 15 species of crane stand
two to five feet tall with a normal wing-spread of seven to eight
feet. Most cranes have gray, white, brown, or blue plumages with
black primaries, and long inner secondaries that hang over the tail.
The black-necked crane has a very pale gray, almost white, body
with a black neck, head, feet and well-developed secondaries. Its
bill is greenish. All cranes have long legs, long straight bills
and necks and an elevated hind toe ,which normally bears none of
the bird’s weight when it walks. They fly with their heads
and necks straight out, their legs and feet stretched out behind
and with a regular, steady and slow downward wing beat matched by
a rapid upstroke. They may circle at tremendous heights (sometimes
5 km above the ground) to form long V-s – an extremely beautiful
sight. Cranes seldom glide, except when preparing to land. A distinctive
feature about this bird is its windpipe,which is shaped differently
in each species but is always elaborately coiled somewhat like a
trumpet. This permits the bird to produce a sound very much like
that of a trumpet – a loud, resonant, far-reaching cry which
can sometimes be heard miles away. To this clarion call they may
occasionally add, when on the ground, a series of softer notes to
produce a pleasant musical sound.
A
crane eats a great variety and quantity of animal and vegetable
matter. Grams, berries, small fruits, tender roots, insects, insect
larvae, worms and snails constitute its diet. This the crane supplements
with small amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals but very few
fish. Astonishingly, during summer, sandhill cranes have been known
to consume 400-500 grasshoppers, crickets and earthworms a day,
while one whooping crane is even recorded to have eaten 800 grasshoppers
in 75 minutes! In winter some cranes may fly as far as 19 km a day
from roost-ponds to grain fields to feed, probing and digging their
bills into the soft ground, in search of succulent roots and grubs.
They drink by dipping their bills into the water, up to their nostrils,
then raising their heads and swallowing quickly.
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