Water Birds Bird Endangered (IUCN)

Grey Crowned Crane

Balearica regulorum

A stately grey crane crowned with a halo of golden bristles — and the only crane in the world that roosts in trees.

Where to look: Ngorongoro Conservation Area Serengeti National Park — wetter grasslands Arusha and Lake Manyara national parks Southern highland wetlands
Best time: Year-round on the Ngorongoro Crater floor; pairs dance most often in the early morning.
Habitat: Wet grassland, marsh margins, floodplain, dambos and adjoining cultivation, with trees for roosting.

In the field

Photograph coming soon

We publish our own photographs rather than stock pictures, so this profile is waiting on a grey crowned crane image from one of our guides. It will be added as soon as we have one worth showing — the field notes below are complete in the meantime.

Species profile

About the grey crowned crane

The grey crowned crane is one of Africa's most elegant birds: pearl-grey with white and chestnut wings, a black-and-white face, red throat wattle and a spectacular crown of stiff golden bristles. Pairs dance together with bows, leaps and wing-spreading throughout the year, not only in courtship.

Alone among the world's cranes, it has a hind toe long enough to grip a branch, so it roosts in trees. It is Endangered: wetland drainage and the capture of birds for the live trade have driven a steep decline across East Africa. The Ngorongoro Crater and highland wetlands are the best Tanzanian places to find it.

Life in the wild

Behavior & relationships

Behavior

Forages by walking through grassland, stamping to flush insects. Dances year-round, and calls with a resonant honking that carries across the crater floor.

Social life

Monogamous, long-term pairs that defend a breeding territory; outside the season birds gather in flocks of dozens on good feeding ground.

What makes it remarkable

Special features

A golden bristle crown, and a hind toe long enough to perch — no other crane roosts in trees.

At a glance

Wildlife group: Water Birds
Type: Bird
Family: Gruidae
Habitat: Wet grassland, marsh margins, floodplain, dambos and adjoining cultivation, with trees for roosting.
Tanzania locations: Ngorongoro Conservation Area
Serengeti National Park — wetter grasslands
Arusha and Lake Manyara national parks
Southern highland wetlands
Sighting availability: Uncommon and declining, but reliable in the Ngorongoro Crater.
Best time to see: Year-round on the Ngorongoro Crater floor; pairs dance most often in the early morning.

Where to see it

Browse every profile recorded in one of these destinations.

Food & life cycle

Diet: Omnivore. Grass seeds, grain, insects, worms, frogs, small reptiles and crop residues.
Gestation / incubation: Incubation about 28–31 days; two to four eggs in a trampled nest among wet grass.
Lifespan: Around 22 years in the wild.