White-naped Crane

The white-naped crane is a large bird, 112–125 centimetres long and about 130 centimetres tall, weighing around 5.6 kilograms. It has a grey body, pinkish legs, a reddish face patch, a white throat and a white stripe running from the back of the crown down the neck, and the white nape separates it from related cranes. Juveniles have a brown head and pale throat. It gives growling contact calls and loud guard and flight-intention calls that differ between the sexes. (Wikipedia, general species account)

The species breeds in shallow wetlands and wet meadows in northeastern Mongolia, northeastern China and adjacent southeastern Russia. Wintering sites depend on breeding location: western breeders migrate through China to Poyang Lake, while eastern breeders travel more southerly through Korea. Mongolia has been shown to hold at least half of the world population. At Khingan Nature Reserve in China a programme rears eggs provided by zoos in the United States to bolster the species. (Wikipedia, general species account)