Cranes. Long-legged elegance

Cranes

LONG-LEGGED ELEGANCE

Text and photos WOJCIECH JAROSZ

Thanks to long legs, cranes feel great even in deeper water

These birds can hardly be caught in an awkward posture. Whether they are standing, strolling on a wet meadow or flying among the clouds – they always do it all with a noble grace.

When they start to dance, they create a magical performance full of choreographic flavors, and exquisite ones at that.

This is why people have always been delighted with cranes. It is impossible to count the references in literature, and in order not to be groundless, I will mention Homer's Iliad as the first. The crane is also mentioned in the Bible, which can be interpreted as an indicator of its good recognition, that is, of regonising it as a representative of the avifauna well known to man. In the former Poland, Mikołaj Rej of Nagłowice of Oksza coat of arms wrote about the crane in his collection of epigrams "The Bestiary" (full name: "The Bestiary, in which shapes, cases and customs of various people, animals and birds are described, especially falling to our present day" year 1562), and much later Jan Brzechwa dedicated a poem to the crane – admittedly with the heron, but nevertheless in the title the crane comes first. It could take a long time to list the items of literature, but this is not what this text is about. To end the topic of cranes inspirations, I will mention the wonderful beauty of oils on the canvas by Józef Chełmoński: "Cranes" (also known as "Departure of the cranes", 1870), "Greeting the sun – cranes" (1910), "Cranes in the morning" (1913) and "Cranes in the clouds" (1913–1914, unfinished work), which are an extremely successful continuation of the painting trend consisting in presenting scenes from the life of cranes, started by our ancestors. Their prehistoric works in the form of wall paintings can be admired in Europe, Africa and Australia. Perhaps just one more word about the Golden Palm-winning lyrical war drama by Mikhail Kalatozov "The Cranes Are Flying" (1957), in which the title V-formation of the cranes, appearing at the beginning and at the end of the film, is one of the most important, symbolic motifs. But let's get back to the more natural issues.

When mating season begins, cranes forage in pairs

Dancing is for cranes not only a form of courtship – it is even a form of communication. Not only the birds that are ready for mating season dance (it is worth adding here that birds of opposite sexes usually form pairs for life), but also young individuals. For them, it is a way to enter the social life of the flock, and at the same time support their physical development. Cranes are social birds, especially outside the breeding season. Therefore, living in large groups forces these birds to use behaviours that facilitate functioning in a group and dance is one of the tools used for this purpose. So you can see many birds dancing at the same time. Their repertoire includes jumps, marches with outstretched wings, bends, and even tossing objects found on the ground above them. All this with their inherent lightness and grace, of course.

Cranes are graceful because of the way they move, but they are also charming in appearance – long legs, a long neck (just like my wife) plus chic and very tasteful colours. Always fashionable grays combined with white and black, with the icing on the cake in the form of a red spot on the head of adult birds. The sophisticated image is completed by an exquisite tail, which adorns the bird when it is not flying, and in fact when its wings are folded. This rear plume is formed by characteristically formed remiges, and the tail of the crane itself (made of feathers called rectrices) is completely inconspicuous. The mentioned colours are not the same for every species of crane – the description applies to the common crane (Grus grus), the only one found in Europe. We will get back to the rest a little later.

Apart from dancing and presence, we associate cranes with a distinctive voice. Their calling, known as clangor, which can carry for miles, is for many one of the earliest heralds of the coming spring. Birds of both sexes sing in this way, both during migration and during mating season. The calls of the responding female and male carry among the fields and meadows,

when the birds, busy foraging, do not want to lose touch. The loudness of the crane's voice is the result of their unique anatomy. They have a trachea that is looped and recessed in the sternum. This internal structure makes it possible to produce very loud sounds. Probably a sound wave resonance specialist could suggest whether the crane's trachea is closer to a baritone saxophone, French horn or maybe a sousaphone.

Where can you see cranes? Of course, it is the easiest to spot them in the sky during migration. It is so easy, because about 20% of the global population of the common crane migrates through Poland. The characteristic V-formations not only can be seen, but also heard quite well. Cranes often stop near water reservoirs, especially in their shallow parts, eagerly foraging there. Both plant and animal food – as they are omnivorous – they can get in meadows, fields, floodplain forests – wherever they can forage in peace. The cranes do not particularly tolerate the presence of humans who disturb their peace. They are very skittish and it's hard to approach these birds so that you can see them well with the naked eye. There is certainly a lot of truth in the old saying "watchful as a crane" – it is a known truth that proverbs are the wisdom of the nation. Spectacular images of thousands of birds in one place can be seen at the so-called gatherings. During the flights, the cranes often rest in flock, first setting up sentries, and they can do it in flocks of several dozen, several hundred or even many thousands of individuals! Observations show that for this purpose birds most often choose places located in river valleys, by ponds and lakes. Nowadays, seeing cranes is a bit easier than a few or a several

A pair of common cranes in flight years ago. The reason for this is the increasing number of these birds in Poland. The Common Breeding Birds Survey, carried out since 2000, indicated the crane, next to the green woodpecker and the common redstart, as the species showing the highest growth tendencies in relation to the population size. This is very good news!

Cranes can be admired on all continents except South America. In Africa appear increasingly rare wattled crane (G. carunculata) and the blue crane (G. paradisea). In Yakutia and West Siberia there lives (unfortunately also less and less numerous and now critically endangered with extinction) the Siberian white crane, also known as the snow crane (Leucogeranus leucogeranus). It is the representative of this species that holds the record for longevity – the bird named Wolf lived 83 years, an achievement for which it was entered in the Guinness Book. In addition, in Asia you can see the Demoiselle crane (G. virgo) – fortunately not endangered, the beautiful Manchurian crane (G. japonensis) and no less beautiful: the hooded crane (G. monacha) and the whitenaped crane (Antigone vipio), which are also members of the Endangered Species Club... This club has been happily abandoned in recent years by a black-necked crane (G. nigricollis) living in the Tibetan Plateau and northern India.

Younger specimens do not have a distinct red cap

Whether they are walking or resting, cranes are always alert

À propos Tibetan Plateau – it is worth mentioning that ordinary cranes can rise high enough to fly over the Himalayas! Of course, they most often choose the lower passes, but they can fly up to 10,000 meters above sea level! In India there is still a crane... Sarus crane, also called Antigone from its the Latin name (Antigone antigone) – it is the tallest flying bird in the world (up to 178 cm high, 280 cm wingspan). In North America, however, we can come across the Sandhill crane (A. canadensis) and a much less numerous whooping crane (G. americana). The list is closed by a silver-gray representative of the Antipode crane family – the Australian crane (Antigone rubicunda).

Just like you, dear Readers, cranes also like water. So when you are at the water's edge, look out for them as they wade on their long legs. When you hear the distinctive clangour coming from the sky, look up to admire these beautiful birds.

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