×
Sarus Crane
bird-image
Kingdom
Animalia
Phylum
Chordata
Class
Aves
Species
Antigone
Subspecies
Grus antigone antigone (Indian Sarus Crane) Grus antigone sharpei (Indochina or Burmese Sarus Crane, Sharpe's Crane) Grus antigone gillae (Australian Sarus Crane) Grus antigone luzonica (Luzon Sarus)
Distribution
Found in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Burma. In Nepal, mostly found in Lumbini and Western terai regions. The species has been extinct from Malaysia, Thailand and Phillipines
Description

It is a very large crane, averaging 156 cm (5 ft) in length, which is found in freshwater marshes and plains. Adults are grey with a bare red head and white crown and a long dark pointed bill. In flight, the long neck is kept straight and the black wing tips can be seen; their long red or pink legs trail behind them. The sexes do not differ in color, but young birds are duller and browner. On average the male is larger than the female; Indian males can attain a maximum height of approximately 200 cm (6.6 ft), with a wingspan of 250 cm (8.5 ft), making them the world's tallest living flying bird. The average weight is 7.3 kg.


Conservation status:

Listed in DNPWC 2029 Act Appendix I, CITES Appendix I and IUCN Red Data Book as lower risk/near threatened.