Demoiselle Crane

Anthropoides virgo

Range

• This species has an extremely large range and can be found across central Asia from the northern Black Sea to China and Mongolia in the west. They have also been documented in Chad, Sudan, Ethiopia, Pakistan, and India.

Habitat

• Grasslands and wetlands

Diet

• Seeds
• Grasses
• Insects
• Worms
• Lizards

Demoiselle cranes are the smallest species of cranes. They have long, trumpeting calls which are higher pitched than most cranes.

All ages perform ritualistic dance displays. These birds form monogamous pair bonds. Demoiselle cranes have one of the hardest migration paths in the world. The flocks (with up to 400) have to cross the Himalayas where many of the cranes die from hunger, fatigue, and predation.