Gruiformes / Gruidae / Grus
Hooded Crane
Grus monacha · 白头鹤
Introduction
A crane native to East Asia and a frequent migratory bird in Japan. It is evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
Description
One of the smallest cranes, measuring 1 m (3.3 ft) long with a wingspan of 1.87 m (6.1 ft) and a weight of 3.7 kg (8.2 lb). It has a grey body. The top of the neck and head is white, except for a patch of bare red skin above the eye.
Distribution & Habitat
Breeds in south-central and south-eastern Siberia, with breeding suspected in Mongolia. Over 80% of the population winters at Izumi, southern Japan. Other wintering grounds include South Korea and China, with about 100 individuals wintering annually in Chongming Dongtan, Shanghai. Rare vagrants have been recorded in southeastern Tennessee (December 2011), southern Indiana (February 2012), and Siargao, Philippines (first recorded March 2020, now frequently migrating to southern wetlands).
Behavior & Ecology
May migrate to North America by following sandhill cranes.
Conservation
Evaluated as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List. The estimated population is 11,600 individuals. Major threats include wetland loss and degradation in wintering grounds in China and South Korea due to reclamation for development and dam building. Listed on Appendix I and II of CITES. Conservation activities involving local universities, NGOs, and communities have been undertaken since 2008.
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 3.0
Taxonomy
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Gruidae
- Genus
- Grus
Distribution
breeds Siberia and northwestern Manchuria; winters to eastern China, Korea, and Japan
Data Sources
Species description from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.
Bird images and sounds sourced from GBIF, contributed by citizen scientists worldwide under Creative Commons licenses.
Taxonomy data from AviList 2025.
