This snow-white graceful and majestic bird is an ornament of many reserves. However, its population in vivo is steadily declining. White crane (Siberian Crane) nests only in limited areas of the northern territories of Russia.
Sterkh: external features
The Siberian Crane belongs to the genus Cranes, the family Cranes. The bird is large - its growth ranges from one hundred forty to one hundred and sixty centimeters, weight about eight kilograms. The wingspan of a crane ranges from two hundred and ten to two hundred and thirty centimeters, depending on the population.
Only during winter migrations the white crane performs long-distance flights. Siberian Crane nests and breeds in Russia. These birds are closely monitored by ornithologists.
Color
The white crane (Siberian Crane) has a characteristic feature, due to which it is difficult to confuse it with another bird - a red long beak, which has sharp notches at its ends. Around the eyes and the beak there are no feathers, and the skin is painted in a rich red color and is visible from afar.
On the body, feathers arranged in two rows are white, on the inner side of the wings at the ends, two rows are black. Legs are long, pinkish. They are excellent helpers of the Siberian Crane in wetlands: they allow you to move over hummocks in a viscous quagmire.
At first, the eyes of the chicks are blue, then they acquire a yellow tint. White Crane (Siberian Crane) lives for about seventy years, without forming subspecies.
Habitat
To date, there are two crane populations of this species. One lives in the Arkhangelsk region, and the second - in the Yamal-Nenets okrug. This is a very careful bird - Siberian Crane. The white crane, a brief description of which is given in the article, is trying in every possible way to avoid meeting people, and this is not in vain: after all, poachers in many areas feel unpunished.
If a bird notices a person, it will leave the nest. Sterkh can throw not only clutch, but also already hatched chicks. Therefore, it is not recommended to disturb the birds during this period. The white crane (Siberian Crane), which breeds only in Russia, can winter in Azerbaijan and India, Afghanistan and Mongolia, China and Pakistan. In early March, cranes returned to their homeland.
In Yakutia, the Siberian Crane travels to remote areas of the tundra and selects marshy swamps and impenetrable forests for placement . Here he lives until the winter migration.
Nutrition
Many naturalists are interested in the question: “What does the white crane (Siberian Crane) eat?” The diet of this beautiful bird includes both plant and animal food. Along with aquatic plants: tubers, cotton grass, cranberries and sedge, which are popular with Siberian Cranes, they will not refuse to eat large insects, eggs of other birds, rodents, alien chicks, invertebrates and fish. In winter, during migration, Siberian Cranes are limited only to plant foods. It should be noted that these birds never harm agricultural land.
Breeding
White cranes are monogamous birds. Pairs form when cranes are six years old. In the middle or end of May, a formed pair of birds selects a place for future nesting. Like other cranes, the couple celebrates their reunion with loud singing. The cry of these birds is characteristic - long, high and clean. It distinguishes Siberian Cranes from other species.
Crane nests are built in open water. They are well-packed platforms of sedge stems. A prerequisite when choosing a place for nesting is the presence of fresh water, and the reservoir should be at least 40 centimeters deep.
It is interesting to watch the couple's mating dance. At first, both birds throw their heads back and make melodic, complex and lingering sounds. Performing his “wedding” song, the male spreads his wings widely, while his chosen one keeps them folded. At this time, the white cranes begin their dance, which consists of bows, bouncing, tossing twigs and flapping wings.
Both parents are engaged in the construction of the nest. Usually, the female lays two gray eggs with small dark spots. In a dry year, there may be one. The offspring female incubates twenty-nine days. At this time, the male vigilantly guards the nest.
Hatched offspring begins a difficult struggle for survival. As a result, one of the largest and strongest chicks remains. Seventy-five days later, he appears brownish-red feathers. They turn into snow-white handsome men only by the age of three.
The Red Book of Russia: White Crane (Siberian Crane)
Sterkh is the largest bird of its family. It leads predominantly an aquatic lifestyle, which makes it difficult to save this species from extinction. Now the number of the Yakut population does not exceed three thousand individuals. For the West Siberian Siberian Cranes, the situation is critical: there are no more than twenty individuals left.
Seriously, the protection of white cranes was dealt with in 1970. Numerous nurseries and reserve funds have been created where ornithologists grow these birds from eggs. They teach chicks to fly long distances. Nevertheless, the threat remains that the white crane (Siberian Crane) will completely disappear. The Red Book (international) also filled its lists with this endangered species. Hunting these birds is completely prohibited.
Hope for rebirth
Since the mid-nineties of the last century, more than one hundred white cranes grown in nurseries have been released into the natural environment. Unfortunately, such chicks do not take root well (no more than 20%). The reason for such a high mortality rate is the lack of navigational orientation, as well as flight training, which is given by parents in vivo.
This problem was tried to correct by American scientists. They set up an experiment, the essence of which was to conduct chicks along the route using motor hang gliders. In Russia, developed a similar program, which was called "Flight of Hope."
Five motor hang gliders were built in 2006, and with their help the young Siberian Cranes were taken along a long route from Yamal to Uzbekistan, where the gray cranes lived, and the Siberian Cranes went with them to winter. In 2012, President V. Putin participated in such a program. But for some reason, this time the gray cranes did not accept Siberian Cranes, and ornithologists were forced to bring seven chicks to the Belozersky Reserve in Tyumen.
Interesting Facts
- In India, the Siberian Crane is called a lily bird. Indira Gandhi issued a decree (1981), according to which the Keoladeo Park was created in the place of wintering of white cranes, in which the strictest regime is observed and favorable conditions for the protection of these magnificent birds are created.
- White crane (Siberian Crane) overcomes the longest path, in comparison with other types of cranes: more than five and a half thousand kilometers. Twice a year, these cranes fly over nine countries.
- In Dagestan, the territory of which the Siberian Cranes cross during migration, a beautiful legend has appeared that the Siberian Cranes are the souls of dead soldiers. The legend formed the basis of the famous song, the words of which were written by Rasul Gamzatov.
- In the mating season, white cranes sleep no more than two hours a day.
- For the Mansi and Khanty peoples, the white crane is a sacred bird, a tribal totem, an indispensable character in all ritual rites.
- Khanty will never bother the Siberian Crane: there is an unwritten taboo on visiting those places where white cranes nest in the spring and summer.
- Ornithologists consider the method of “adoptive parents” and rearing young animals in the reserve to be the most effective methods of breeding these birds. In the first case, the eggs of white cranes can be placed in the nests of gray cranes. In the second, chicks are raised in the reserve, isolated from contact with humans. Then they are released to adult wild cranes.
Ornithologists continue to develop activities aimed at preserving this magnificent bird. We hope that the white crane (Siberian Crane), the description of which we presented in this article, will be preserved and the beautiful bird will delight us with its appearance for a long time.