Birds › Mountain lake › Black-necked Crane

Black-necked Crane

Grus nigricollis

The only crane that lives at high altitude all year, nesting as high as 4,900 m (16,000 ft). It is honored in Tibetan Buddhism.

Where to see it for real: Winters in marshes and fields near Shangri-La in Yunnan, and in Bhutan and southern Tibet.

Lives in the Mountain lake habitat (Eastern Himalayas, Yunnan, China, at about 3,700 m).

Black-necked Crane facts

Family: Cranes
Length: 55 in (139 cm)
Wingspan: 93 in (235 cm)
Weight: 12.1 lb (5.5 kg)
Diet: Roots, tubers and grain, plus snails, insects and small fish.
Range: Breeds on the Tibetan Plateau; winters in valleys of southern Tibet, Yunnan, Guizhou and Bhutan.
Nest: A mound of grass and mud on an island or in a marsh.
Song: Loud, trumpeting duets between mates.
Active: by day
Status: Near Threatened on the IUCN Red List: close to qualifying as threatened.