Description:

A large, tall, pale grey crane with slate-grey body, with black primaries; dark head. Adult has mainly black head and fore-neck, with white stripe behind eye extending down side of neck. Immature has brown markings on upperparts, with buff or grey head and neck. Adult head pattern apparent on some by first winter.

Distribution:

Rare passage migrant through the region, mainly eastern parts of Baltistan region. On migration occurs in steppe, grassland or sandbanks near rivers or shallow lakes, cultivations and desert or semi-desert areas, up to 3500m.

Behavior:

Forages on land and in water by probing and picking. Omnivorous. Plant items generally more important, roots, rhizomes, tubers, stems, shoots, leaves, berries, seeds of emergent wetland plants, grasses, forbs and crop plants. Animal items mainly small invertebrates; also frogs, snakes, lizards, fish and rodents.

Photo Gallery:

Range & Occurrence:

Resident Species

Summer Breeder

Winter Visitor

Passage Migrant

Distribution Map of Common Crane in Gilgit-Baltistan (Status: )

Seasonal Occurrence of Common Crane

Resources:

Birds of Pakistan: Helm Field Guides (R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
The Birds of Pakistan (T. J. Roberts)
Birds of the Indian Subcontinent (C. Inskipp, R. Grimmett & T. Inskipp)
Birds of South Asia: The Ripley Guide (P. Rasmussen & J. Anderton)
Birds of India: Collins Field Guide (N. Arlott)
Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan (S. Ali & S. D. Ripley)
Handbook of the Birds of the World (https://www.hbw.com)
The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World, 6th Edition
iNaturalist BoGB (inaturalist.org/projects/birds-of-gilgit-baltistan)
Birds of Gilgit-Baltistan (http://fb.me/birdsgb)

*Gallery images on this page are shared from flickr.com, and are copyrighted to their respective creators or owners.