Demoiselle Crane

The demoiselle crane is slightly smaller than the common crane, 85–100 cm long with a wingspan of 155–180 cm and a weight of 2–3 kg, and has similar plumage. It has a long white neck stripe, and the black on the foreneck extends over the chest in a plume. Its trumpeting call is higher pitched than the common crane's. Chicks are pale brown above and greyish white below (Wikipedia, general species account).

It breeds in central Eurasia from the Black Sea east to Mongolia and north-east China, in open habitat with sparse vegetation, usually near water, and roosts at night in shallow water. Birds from Asia, Mongolia and China spend the winter in western regions of the Indian subcontinent, where the bird is known as koonj or kurjaa and is symbolically significant in the culture. The minimal nest is on an open patch of grass or bare ground; eggs are laid in April or May, normally two, and incubation is by both sexes but mainly the female. SoIB 2023 rates it a High conservation priority, with a long-term decline of about 52% and a current decline of nearly 4% a year (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).