Grey crowned crane, Congo (Democratic Republic)

The body of the Grey Crowned Crane is mainly gray. The wings are predominantly white, but contain feathers with colors ranging from white to brown to gold. The head is topped with a crown of stiff golden feathers. Cheek patches are white, and a red gular sack is present under the chin. All crowned cranes have the ability to perch because their long hind toe allows for grasping. Males and females are virtually indistinguishable, although males tend to be slightly larger. The range of the Grey Crowned Crane in eastern and southern Africa stretches from eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Uganda, and Kenya to southeastern South Africa. They are non-migratory, but undertake variable local and seasonal movements. The South African subspecies occurs in Angola, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, and South Africa. The East African subspecies occurs in Uganda, Kenya, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo, northern Zimbabwe, and northern Mozambique, and comprises the majority of the total population. Grey Crowned Cranes require mixed wetland-grassland habitats. Nesting usually occurs in wetlands where the vegetation is of a significant height to conceal the cranes on their nests. All cranes are omnivorous. Principal foods of the Grey Crowned Crane include tips of grasses, seeds, insects, and other invertebrates, and small vertebrates. They also forage in croplands for groundnuts, soybeans, maize, and millet. The Grey Crowned Crane's generalist feeding strategy allows the species to adapt to human settlement. Most Grey Crowned Cranes in East Africa live in human modified landscapes. This photograph was taken when Eliot Elisofon traveled to Africa from early March 1951 to July 1951.