This is a beautiful bird, listed in the Red Book as an endangered look. He lives in the Far Eastern region, inhabiting, including several Russian territories, for example, Sakhalin.
Description of the Japanese crane
This crane has large sizes and was awarded the title of the largest crane on the planet. It has a height of more than half a meter and weight more than 7 kilograms. In addition to outstanding sizes, the bird has a nonstandard coloring. Almost all plumage is painted white, including wings. On the top of the head of adults there is a red “hat”. It is not formed by feathers, such as woodpeckers, but with skin. There are no feathers in this place at all, and the skin has a rich red color.
There are no color, like other striking, there are no differences between males and females. Male Japanese crane can only be recognized by slightly large sizes. But there are great differences in the appearance of adults and “adolescents”.
Young individuals of the Japanese crane are distinguished by a variety of colors in plumage. Their feathers are painted in white, gray, black and brown colors. And there is no distinctive red “hat” on the head at all. This place “bald” as the bird grows up.
Where the Japanese crane lives
The habitat of wild birds of this species covers the territory of about 84,000 square kilometers. The whole area fits in the area of the Far East and the islands of Japan. At the same time, scientists divide Japanese cranes into two “groups”. One of them lives exclusively in the Kuril Islands, as well as the Japanese island of Hokaydo. The second nests on the banks of the rivers of Eurasia and China. Cranes living on the “big land” make seasonal flights. With the advent of winter, they go to the territory of Korea and to some remote areas of China.
For a comfortable residence of the Japanese crane requires a wet, even swampy area. As a rule, these birds settle in lowlands, river valleys, shores overgrown with sedge and other thick grass. Can arrange nests in wet fields, provided that the reservoir is closely arranged.
In addition to wet climate and the presence of reliable shelters, a crane is important good visibility in all directions. Japanese crane is a fairly secretive bird. He avoids meetings with a person and does not settle next to his housing, roads, even agricultural land.
Lifestyle
Like the vast majority of other types of cranes, Japanese has a kind of ritual of creating a couple. It consists of a special joint singing of a female and a male, as well as courtship for the “second half”. Smacher crawl performs a variety of dances.
In the crane masonry, as a rule, there are two eggs. Racing lasts about a month, and the chicks become completely independent 90 days after the birth.
The nutrition of the crane is very diverse. In the “menu” animal food prevails, among which water insects, amphibians, fish, small rodents. From plant feed, the crane eats shoots and rhizomes of various plants, trees of trees, as well as wheat grains, corn and rice.
The Japanese crane, in need of specific, wild conditions, directly suffers from the development of agriculture and industry. Many areas where the bird had previously found calm places for nesting, now mastered by a person. This leads to the impossibility of laying eggs and reducing the number of cranes. Currently, the number of birds is estimated as 2,000 individuals on the entire planet. Only the American crane, which is on the verge of complete disappearance, has even smaller.
