View source for Common crane

{{Short description|Species of bird also known as Eurasian crane}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Speciesbox
| image = Common crane grus grus.jpg
| image_caption =
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |year=2016 |title=''Grus grus'' |page=e.T22692146A86219168 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692146A86219168.en |access-date=19 February 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A2 
| status2_system = CITES 
| status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref>
| genus = Grus
| species = grus
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| synonyms = *''Ardea grus'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
*''Grus turfa'' <small>Portis, 1884</small>
| range_map = Common Crane Range.svg
| range_map_caption = The range of the common crane
{{leftlegend|#b79462|Extant (non-breeding)}}
{{leftlegend|#65a194|Extant (resident)}}
{{leftlegend|#967cad|Extant (breeding)}}
}}

The '''common crane''' ('''''Grus grus'''''), also known as the '''Eurasian crane''', is a [[bird]] of the family Gruidae, the [[crane (bird)|cranes]]. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the [[demoiselle crane]] (''[[Grus (bird)|Grus]] virgo'') and the [[Siberian crane]] (''Leucogeranus leucogeranus'') that only are regular in the far eastern part of the continent. Along with the [[sandhill crane]] (''Antigone canadensis''), demoiselle crane and the [[brolga]] (''Antigone rubicunda''), it is one of only four crane species not currently classified as threatened with extinction or conservation dependent on the species level. Despite the species' large numbers, local extinctions and extirpations have taken place in part of its range, and an ongoing [[Reintroduction of a species|reintroduction project]] is underway in the United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite web |title=Common cranes 'here to stay' after recolonising eastern England |url=https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/jul/17/common-cranes-here-to-stay-after-recolonising-eastern-england |website=[[The Guardian]] |date=17 July 2018 |access-date=25 April 2019}}</ref>

==Taxonomy==
The first [[Species description|formal description]] of the common crane was by the Swedish naturalist [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 in the [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|tenth edition]] of his ''[[Systema Naturae]]'' under the [[binomial nomenclature|binomial name]] ''Ardea grus''.<ref>{{cite book | last=Linnaeus | first=C. | author-link=Carl Linnaeus | year=1758 | title= Systema Naturæ per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis | volume=1| edition=10th | pages=141–142 | publisher=Holmiae:Laurentii Salvii  | language=la | url= https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/727048 }}</ref> The current [[genus]] ''Grus'' was erected by the French zoologist [[Mathurin Jacques Brisson]] in 1760.<ref>{{cite book | last=Brisson | first=Mathurin Jacques | author-link=Mathurin Jacques Brisson | year=1760 | title=Ornithologie, ou, Méthode contenant la division des oiseaux en ordres, sections, genres, especes & leurs variétés | volume=5 | language=fr, la | pages=374–375 | place=Paris | publisher=Jean-Baptiste Bauche | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/36294736 }}</ref> ''Grus'' is the Latin word for a "crane".<ref>{{cite book | last=Jobling | first=James A. | year=2010| title= The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names | url=https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling | publisher=Christopher Helm | location=London | isbn= 978-1-4081-2501-4 | page=[https://archive.org/details/Helm_Dictionary_of_Scientific_Bird_Names_by_James_A._Jobling/page/n179 179] }}</ref> The species is considered to be [[monotypic]]: no [[subspecies]] are recognised.<ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=December 2023 | title=Finfoots, flufftails, rails, trumpeters, cranes, Limpkin | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.1 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/new/bow/flufftails/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=19 July 2024 }}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Grus grus hunneberget.ogg|thumb|Common crane (''Grus grus'')]]

The common crane is a large, stately bird and a medium-sized crane. It is {{convert|100|–|130|cm|in|abbr=on}} long with a {{convert|180|–|240|cm|in|abbr=on}} wingspan. The body weight can range from {{convert|3|to|6.1|kg|lb|abbr=on}}, with the nominate subspecies averaging around {{convert|5.4|kg|lb|abbr=on}} and the eastern subspecies (''G. g. lilfordi'') averaging {{convert|4.6|kg|lb|abbr=on}}. Among standard measurements, the [[Wing chord (biology)|wing chord]] is {{convert|50.7|-|60.8|cm|in|abbr=on}} long, the [[Tarsus (skeleton)|tarsus]] is {{convert|20.1|-|25.2|cm|in|abbr=on}} and the [[Culmen (bird)|exposed culmen]] is {{convert|9.5|-|11.6|cm|in|abbr=on}}.

Males are slightly heavier and larger than females, with weight showing the largest [[sexual size dimorphism]], followed by wing, central toe, and head length in adults and juveniles.<ref name=Alonso2019/>

This species is slate-grey overall. The forehead and [[lore (anatomy)|lores]] are blackish with a bare red crown and a white streak extending from behind the eyes to the upper back. The overall colour is darkest on the back and rump and palest on the breast and wings. The primaries, the tips of secondaries, the [[alula]], the tip of the tail, and the edges of upper tail coverts are all black and the greater coverts droop into explosive plumes. This combination of colouration ultimately distinguishes it from similar species in Asia, like the [[hooded crane|hooded]] (''G. monacha'') and [[black-necked crane]]s (''G. nigricollis''). The juvenile has yellowish-brown tips to its body feathers and lacks the drooping wing feathers and the bright neck pattern of the adult, and has a fully feathered crown. Every two years, before migration, the adult common crane undergoes a complete moult, remaining flightless for six weeks, until the new feathers grow.

It has a loud trumpeting call, given in flight and display. The call is piercing and can be heard from a considerable distance. It has a dancing display, leaping with wings uplifted, described in detail below.

==Distribution==
The common crane breeds in Europe and across the [[Palearctic]] to Siberia.<ref name=iucn/> By far the largest breeding populations can be found in Russia, Finland and Sweden. It is a rare breeder in southern and western Europe, with larger numbers breeding in the central and eastern parts of the continent. It has reappeared in several western European countries where it had been extirpated as a breeding bird decades or even centuries ago, including the United Kingdom and, since 2021, the Republic of Ireland.<ref name="Ireland BBC 2022"/> In Russia, it breeds as far east at the [[Chukchi Peninsula]]. In Asia, the breeding range of the common crane extends as far south as northern China, Turkey and the [[Caucasus region]].<ref name=iucn/><ref name="IUCN SSC">{{cite web | last1=Prange | first1=H. | last2=Ilyaschenko | first2=E.I. | year=2019 | title=Eurasian Crane | url=https://savingcranes.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/crane_conservation_strategy_eurasian_crane.pdf | work=IUCN SSC Crane Specialist Group – Crane Conservation Strategy | pages=397–424 }}</ref>

The species is a [[bird migration|migrant]] and common cranes that breed in Europe predominantly winter in Portugal, Spain and northern Africa.<ref name="IUCN SSC"/> Autumn migration is from August to October in the breeding areas, but from late October to early December at the wintering sites. Spring migration starts in February at wintering sites up to early March,<ref name=Alonso1990a/><ref name=Alonso1990b/> but from March through May at the breeding areas. Migration phenology of common cranes is changing due to [[climate change]].<ref name=Orellana2020/>  Important staging areas occur anywhere from Sweden, the Netherlands and Germany to China (with a large one around the [[Caspian Sea]]) and many thousand cranes can be seen in one day in the Autumn. Some birds winter elsewhere in southern Europe, including Portugal and France.<ref name="IUCN SSC"/> During mild winters, some may stay near their breeding locations year-round, even in northwestern Europe.<ref>{{cite web| title=Flere traner overvintrer i Danmark | url=https://netnatur.dk/flere-traner-overvintrer-i-danmark/ | date=11 January 2020 | publisher=netnatur.dk | access-date=16 January 2023 }}</ref> Common cranes that breed in far eastern Europe, including European Russia, winter in the river valleys of Sudan, Ethiopia, Tunisia and Eritrea with smaller numbers in Turkey, northern Israel, Iraq and parts of Iran. The third major wintering region, primarily used by those breeding in central Russia, is in the northern half of the [[Indian subcontinent]], including Pakistan. Minimal wintering also occurs in Burma, Vietnam and Thailand. Lastly, the easternmost breeders winter in eastern China, where they are often the most common crane.<ref name=Johnsgard1983>{{cite book | last=Johnsgard | first=P. | author-link=Paul Johnsgard | year=1983 | title=Cranes of the World | chapter=Eurasian Crane (Grus grus) | url=https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/bioscicranes/ | publisher=University of Nebraska Lincoln | pages=226–237 }}</ref> Migrating flocks fly in a [[V_formation|"V" formation]].

It is a rare visitor to Japan and Korea, mostly blown over from the Chinese wintering population, and is a rare vagrant to western North America, where birds are occasionally seen with flocks of migrating [[sandhill crane]]s.

==Habitat==
[[File:Osmussaar. 15.jpg|thumb|Common cranes in [[Osmussaar]], [[Estonia]]. Wetlands are preferred habitats for the cranes.]]
In Europe, the common crane predominantly breeds in [[Taiga|boreal and taiga]] forest and mixed forests, from an elevation of sea-level to {{convert|2200|m|ft|abbr=on}}. In northern [[climes]], it breeds in treeless moors, on bogs, or on dwarf heather habitats, usually where small lakes or pools are also found. In [[Sweden]], breeders are usually found in small, swampy openings amongst pine forests, while in Germany, marshy wetlands are used. Breeding habitat used in Russia are similar, though they can be found nesting in less likely habitat such as [[steppe]] and even semi-desert, so long as water is near. Primarily, the largest number of common cranes are found breeding in wooded swamps, bogs and wetlands and seem to require quiet, peaceful environs with minimal human interference. They occur at low density as breeders even where common, typically ranging from 1 to 5 pairs per {{convert|100|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}.

In winter, this species moves to flooded areas, shallow sheltered bays, and swampy meadows. During the flightless moulting period there is a need for shallow waters or high reed cover for concealment. Later, after the migration period, the birds winter regularly in open country, often on cultivated lands and sometimes also in [[savanna]]-like areas, for example on the [[Iberian Peninsula]].<ref name=Bautista1992/>

==Behaviour==

===Diet===
The common crane is [[omnivorous]], as are all cranes. It largely eats plant matter, including [[root]]s, [[rhizome]]s, [[tuber]]s, [[Plant stem|stem]]s, [[leaf|leaves]], [[fruit]]s and [[seed]]s. They also commonly eat, when available, pond-weeds, [[Heath|heath berries]], [[pea]]s, [[potato]]es, [[olive]]s, [[acorn]]s, [[Cedrus|cedar nuts]] and pods of [[peanut]]s. Notably amongst the berries consumed, the [[cranberry]], is possibly named after the species.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Harper |first=Douglas |date=4 May 2018 |title=Cranberry (n.) |url=https://www.etymonline.com/word/cranberry |access-date=26 January 2024 |website=Online Etymology Dictionary}}</ref>

Animal foods become more important during the summer breeding season and may be the primary food source at that time of year, especially while regurgitating to young. Their animal foods are [[insect]]s, especially [[dragonflies]], and also [[snail]]s, [[earthworm]]s, [[crab]]s, [[spider]]s, [[millipede]]s, [[woodlice]], [[amphibian]]s, [[rodent]]s, and small [[bird]]s.

Common cranes may either forage on land or in shallow water, probing around with their bills for any edible organism. Although crops may locally be damaged by the species, they mostly consume waste grain in winter from previously harvested fields and so actually benefit farmers by cleaning fields for use in the following year.<ref name=Alonso1994/> As with other cranes, all foraging (as well as drinking and roosting) is done in small groups, which may variously consist of pairs, family groups or winter flocks.

===Breeding===
[[File:PSM V09 D158 Crane throat structure.jpg|thumb|The long coiled [[Vertebrate trachea|trachea]] (TR) penetrating the [[Keel (bird anatomy)|sternum]] (S, K, A) produces the trumpeting calls of the crane. L on the left - [[Lung#Avian_lungs#Avian lungs|lungs]], LA - [[larynx]], L on the right - [[tongue]].]]
This species usually lays eggs in May, though seldom will do so earlier or later. Like most cranes, this species displays indefinite monogamous pair bonds. If one mate dies, a crane may attempt to court a new mate the following year. Although a pair may be together for many years, the courtship rituals of the species are enacted by every pair each spring. The dancing of common cranes has complex, social meanings and may occur at almost any time of year. Dancing may include bobs, bows, pirouettes, and stops, as in various crane species. Aggressive displays may include ruffled wing feathers, throwing vegetation in the air and pointing the bare red patch on their heads at each other. Courtship displays begin with a male following the female in a stately, march-like walk. The unison call, consists of the female holding her head up and gradually lowering down as she calls out. The female calls out a high note and then the male follows with a longer scream in a similar posture. Copulation consists of a similar, dramatic display.

<gallery mode="packed" heights="150px">
File:Baltsende en parende kraanvogels-Stichting Natuurbeelden-170687.webm|pair showing the mating behavior
Grus grus egg - Niitvälja bog.jpg|Egg on nest
Common crane chick swimming alone on the Tidan River, Sweden.jpg|Chick on the [[Tidan|Tidan River]], Sweden
Common crane (Grus grus) juvenile Oppdal.jpg|Juvenile in [[Norway]], showing developing adult plumage
</gallery>

The nesting territory of common cranes is variable and is based on the local habitat. It can range in size from variously {{convert|2|to|500|ha|acre|abbr=on}}. In common with sandhill cranes (and no other crane species), common cranes "paint" their bodies with mud or decaying vegetation, apparently in order to blend into their nesting environment. The nest is either in or very near shallow water, often with dense shore vegetation nearby, and may be used over several years. The size and placement of the nest varies considerably over the range, with Arctic birds building relatively small nests. In Sweden, an average nest is around {{convert|90|cm|in|abbr=on}} across.

The clutch of the common crane usually contains two eggs, with seldom one laid and, even more rarely, 3 or 4. If a clutch is lost early in incubation, the cranes may be able to lay another one within a couple of weeks. The incubation period is around 30 days and is done primarily by the female but occasionally by both sexes. If humans approach the nest both parents may engage in a [[distraction display]] but known ground predators (including [[Dog|domestic dogs]] (''Canis lupus familiaris'')) are physically attacked almost immediately.

New hatchlings are generally quite helpless but are able to crawl away from danger within a few hours, can swim soon after hatching and can run with their parents at 24 hours old. Chicks respond to danger by freezing, using their camouflaged brownish down to defend them beyond their fierce parents. Young chicks use their wings to stabilise them while running, while by 9 weeks of age they can fly short distances. The adult birds go through their postbreeding moult while caring for their young, rendering them flightless for about 5 to 6 weeks around the time the young also can't fly yet. According to figures of cranes wintering in Spain, around 48% birds have surviving young by the time they winter and around 18% are leading two young by winter. By the next breeding season, the previous years young often flock together. The age of sexual maturity in wild birds has been estimated at variously from 3 to 6 years of age.

===Longevity===
This species could live up to 30 or 40 years of age.<ref name=Burton2002/> But the data on [[longevity]] (43 years) and [[life expectancy]] (12 years, N=7 cranes) were published with captive cranes.<ref name=Mitchell1911/> Common cranes living in the wild must show shorter lives. Successful breeders, the best subjects in the population, are guessed to live on average 12 years.<ref name=Wessling2021/> Unsuccessful breeding cranes, therefore, may have shorter lives. Elementary [[survival analysis]] with the Euring database<ref name=Euring2018/> reports a life expectancy at birth (LEB) of c. 5 years.<ref name=Bautista2021/> This LEB of 5 years was similar to that estimated for other crane species, as for example the Florida [[sandhill cranes]] (''G. canadensis'') (LEB = 7 years).<ref name=Tacha1992/> Reports of tagged common cranes have increased rapidly in the last decades.<ref name=iCORA2018/> Therefore, longevity and life expectancy at birth of wild common cranes will be updated.

===Sociality===
The common crane is a fairly social bird while not breeding. Flocks of up to 400 birds may be seen flying together during migration. Staging sites, where migrating birds gather to rest and feed in the middle of their migration, may witness thousands of cranes gathering at once. However, the flocks of the species are not stable social units but rather groups that ensure greater safety in numbers and collectively draw each other's attention to ideal foraging and roosting sites.<ref name=Bautista1995/> Possibly due to a longer molt, younger and non-breeding cranes are usually the earliest fall migrants and may band together at that time of year. During these migratory flights, common cranes have been known to fly at altitudes of up to {{convert|33000|ft|m|abbr=on}}, one of the highest of any species of bird, second only to the [[Ruppell's Griffin Vulture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://themysteriousworld.com/10-highest-flying-birds-in-the-world/|title=Top 10 Highest Flying Birds In The World - The Mysterious World|date=31 March 2015}}</ref>

Cranes use a kleptoparasitic strategy to recover from temporary reductions in feeding rate, particularly when the rate is below the threshold of intake necessary for survival.<ref name=Bautista1998/> Accumulated intake of common cranes during daytime at a site of stopover and wintering shows a typical anti-sigmoid shape, with greatest increases of intake after dawn and before dusk.<ref name=Bautista2013/>

===Interspecies interactions===
There are few natural predators of adult cranes, although [[white-tailed eagle]] (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), [[Bonelli's eagle]]s (''Aquila fasciata''), [[eastern imperial eagle]]s (''Aquila heliaca'') and [[golden eagle]]s (''Aquila chrysaetos'') are a potential predatory threat to common cranes of all ages.<ref name=Moll1963/><ref name=Sulkava1984/><ref name=Munoz-Pulido1993/><ref name=Aviles1998/><ref>Horváth, M., Solti, B., Fatér, I., Juhász, T., HaraSztHy, L., Szitta, T. & Pásztory-Kovács, S. (2018). Temporal changes in the diet composition of the Eastern Imperial Eagle in Hungary. Ornis Hungarica, 26(1), 1-26.</ref> The crane has been known to counterattack eagles both on the land and in mid-flight, using their bill as a weapon and kicking with their feet.<ref name=Johnsgard1983/> Mammals such as [[wild boar]] (''Sus scrofa''), [[wolverine]] (''Gulo gulo'') and [[red fox]]es (''Vulpes vulpes'') are attacked at the nest. Herbivorous mammals such as [[red deer]] (''Cervus elaphus'') may also be attacked at the nest, indicating the high aggressiveness of the birds while nesting.<ref name=Johnsgard1983/> The determined attack of a parent crane often assures safety from predators including large mammals such as foxes, but occasional losses to predation are inevitable.<ref>Stanbury, Andrew, and Norman Sills. "Common crane habitats in Britain." British Wildlife 23.6 (2012): 381.</ref> The [[carrion crow]] (''Corvus corone'') is locally a successful predator of common cranes' eggs, trickily using distraction displays to steal them. Other species of ''[[Corvus]]'' may also cause some loss of eggs, with [[common raven]]s (''Corvus corax'') also taking some small chicks.<ref name=EOL/><ref name=Leito2005/> Common cranes may loosely associate with any other crane in the genus ''Grus'' in migration or winter as well as [[greater white-fronted goose|greater white-fronted geese]] and [[bean goose|bean geese]].<ref name=Johnsgard1983/>

==Population and conservation==
In 2015, the global population was estimated to be about 500,000 individuals.<ref name=iucn/> The vast majority of pairs nest in Russia, Finland (30–40,000 pairs in 2009<ref>{{cite book | last1=Valkama | first1=J. | last2=Vepsäläinen | first2=V. | last3=Lehikoinen | first3=A. | title=Suomen 3. lintuatlaksen (2006-2010) tulokset | url=https://cdn.laji.fi/files/birdatlas/lintuatlas3koko.pdf | year=2011 | publisher=[[Finnish Museum of Natural History]] and [[Ministry of the Environment (Finland)|Finland's Ministry of the Environment]] | access-date=16 January 2023 | isbn=978-952-10-6918-5 }}</ref>) and Sweden ({{circa}} 30,000 pairs in 2012<ref>{{cite web| title=Storfågelkunskap: Trana | url=https://www.slu.se/centrumbildningar-och-projekt/viltskadecenter/stod-i-viltforvaltningen/storfagelkunskap-for-tjansteman/storfagelkunskap-trana/ | date=28 January 2022 | publisher=[[Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences]] | access-date=16 January 2023 }}</ref>). On the fringes of its range, it has often become rare or even been [[extirpated]], but in several European countries this trend has been reversed and overall the European population is increasing.<ref name=iucn/>

In the early 20th century, it was considered rare in Poland, but gradually began to increase and this has accelerated since the 1980s. In 2010–2012, the Polish population was estimated to number 20–22,000 pairs.<ref>{{cite journal| last1=Chodkiewicz | first1=T. | display-authors=etal | title=Ocena liczebności populacji ptaków lęgowych w Polsce w latach 2008–2012 | url=http://www.ornis-polonica.pl/_pdf/OP_2015_3_149-189.pdf | journal=Ornis Polonica | volume=56 | pages=149–189 }}</ref> Norway had 3–5,000 pairs in 2015 and Estonia had 5,800 pairs in 1999, with both increasing.<ref>{{cite web| title=Trane Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758) | url=https://artsdatabanken.no/lister/rodlisteforarter/2021/8339 | date=24 November 2021 | publisher=Artsdatabanken | access-date=16 January 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{cite journal| last1=Leito | first1=A. | last2=Truu | first2=J. | last3=Leivits | first3=A. | last4=Ojaste | first4=I. | title=Changes in distribution and numbers of the breeding population of the Crane Grus grus in Estonia | year=2003 | journal=Ornis Fennica | volume=80 | pages=159–171 }}</ref> The German breeding population increased from 700 pairs in 1978 to more than 10,000 pairs in 2017, which is still a fraction of the size of the numbers that once bred in the country. After having disappeared as a breeding bird decades earlier, the species began breeding again in France in 2000 and in 2017 there were more than 20 pairs. In Denmark, the common crane returned as a breeder in 1953, about a century after it had disappeared. Numbers remained extremely low, less than 5 pairs, until the 1990s when a rapid increase began; in 2022 there were at least 750 pairs in Denmark.<ref>{{cite web| title=Danmarks bestand af traner på vej mod 1.000 ynglepar | url=https://www.dof.dk/om-dof/nyheder?nyhed_id=2091 | date=20 August 2022 | publisher=[[Danish Ornithological Society]] | access-date=16 January 2023 }}</ref> In the Netherlands, the species disappeared as a breeding bird centuries ago, but it returned in 2001 and by 2020 there were about 40 pairs in the country.<ref>{{cite web| title=Kraanvogel | url=https://www.vogelbescherming.nl/ontdek-vogels/kennis-over-vogels/vogelgids/vogel/kraanvogel | date=20 August 2022 | publisher=[[Vogelbescherming Nederland]] | access-date=16 January 2023 }}</ref> The common crane returned to the Czech Republic as a breeder in 1981 and by 2004 it had increased to 35 pairs.<ref>{{cite journal | last1=Kondělka | first1=D. | last2=Petro | first2=R. | year=2008 | title=Prvé známé případy prokázaného hnízdění jeřába popelavého (Grus grus) na Moravě a ve Slezsku | journal=Sylvia | volume=44 | pages=67–68 }}</ref> In 2009, the species again began to breed in Slovakia,<ref name="IUCN SSC"/> and in Austria it returned as a breeding bird in 2018 after having disappeared in 1885.<ref>{{cite news| title=Bild der Woche: Naturspektakel Kranichzug | url=https://www.wwf.at/bild-der-woche-naturspektakel-kranichzug/ | date=9 November 2022 | publisher=WWF Austria | access-date=17 January 2023 }}</ref> Although large numbers winter in Spain, the last breeding in the country had been in 1954. In 2017, a pair that had been released after being rehabilitated bred in Spain.<ref>{{cite web| title=Primera reproducción de grulla común -Grus grus- en España | url=https://www.grusextremadura.org/primera-reproduccion-de-la-grulla-comun-grus-grus-en-espana/ | date=9 August 2017 | publisher=GrusExtremadura | access-date=16 January 2023 }}</ref> It was extirpated as a breeder from Italy around 1920 and Hungary by 1952, and it also used to breed in the [[Balkans]]; significant numbers still pass through these countries during migration.<ref name="IUCN SSC"/><ref name=Johnsgard1983/><ref>{{cite journal | last1=Mingozzi | first1=T. | display-authors=etal | title=Autumn migration of Common Cranes Grus grus through the Italian Peninsula: new vs. historical flyways and their meteorological correlate | year=2013 | journal=Acta Ornithologica | volume=48 | issue=2 | pages=165–177 | doi=10.3161/000164513X678810 | s2cid=55629395 }}</ref>

In the United Kingdom, the common crane became extirpated in the 17th century, but a small and increasing population now breeds again in the [[Norfolk Broads]]<ref name="norfolkwildlifetrust" /> and a reintroduction began in 2010 in the [[Somerset levels]]. A total of 93 birds were released between 2010 and 2014 as part of the reintroduction effort, and there are now 180 resident birds in the UK. In 2016, a wild crane was born in [[Wales]] for the first time in over 400 years.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Where are we at? {{!}} The Great Crane Project|url=http://www.thegreatcraneproject.org.uk/project/where-are-we-now|access-date=2021-02-06|website=www.thegreatcraneproject.org.uk}}</ref> In 2021, the British population had increased to 72 pairs.<ref name="Ireland BBC 2022"/> In the Republic of Ireland, several visiting flocks were observed in the 2000s and in 2021 a pair managed to breed for the first time on the island in 300 years.<ref name="Ireland BBC 2022">{{cite news| title=More crane chicks born in Ireland after 300-year absence | url=https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cw98ee8wd84o | date=11 July 2022 | publisher=BBC | access-date=16 January 2023 }}</ref>

The main threat to the species and the primary reason for its decline comes from [[habitat loss]] and [[habitat degradation|degradation]], as a result of [[dam]] construction, [[urbanisation]], [[agricultural expansion]],<ref name="Alonso2018" /> and [[drainage]] of [[wetlands]]. Although it has adapted to human settlement in many areas, nest disturbance, continuing changes in [[land use]], and collision with utility lines are still potential problems. Further threats may include persecution due to crop damage, [[pesticide poisoning]], egg collection, and hunting.<ref name="birdlife" /><ref name="HBW" /> The common crane is one of the species to which the ''Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds'' ([[AEWA]]) applies.

==Culture==
[[File:Józef Chełmoński - Cranes - MNK II-a-793 - National Museum Kraków.jpg|thumb|250px|"Departure of Cranes" - [[Oil painting|picture]] of [[1870]] by [[Józef Chełmoński]] ([[National Museum in Cracow]])]]
[[File:Tervola.vaakuna.svg|thumb|upright|A common crane in the coat of arms in the [[Tervola|Tervola municipality]]]]
In [[1870]] [[Józef Chełmoński]] painted a [[Oil painting|picture]]: "Departure of Cranes" ([[National Museum in Cracow]])

In [[Ireland]], despite being extinct for over 200 years, the common crane plays a very important part in Irish culture and folklore and so thus recent efforts to encourage it back to [[Ireland]] are received with much enthusiasm.

The [[Kranich Museum]] in [[Hessenburg]], [[Mecklenburg-Vorpommern]], Germany, is dedicated to art and folklore related to the common crane.

The common crane is the sacred bird of the god [[Hephaestus]],<ref name=Theoi.com/> and it features heavily in the god's iconography.
In Indian states of Rajsthan and Gujarat this crane is described in lots of folk songs. For example: a newly married woman (whose husband has gone to a far away place for earning) will sing a song to crane to take a message to her husband and request to tell him to come home early.{{citation needed|date=April 2023}}

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Common crane in flight.jpg|Adult in flight
File:Flying common crane.jpg|Juvenile in flight
File:Zurawie Bobrowniki 03.jpg|Large flock of cranes near Bobrowniki, Poland
File:Common Crane AMSM6991.jpg|Adults in flight at [[Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]
File:Common Crane AMSM6984.jpg|Family group - adults and immatures - at [[Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]
File:Common Crane pairAMSM6949.jpg|Adults at [[Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]
File:Common Crane AMSM6923 CCRA.jpg|Immature at [[Khijadiya Bird Sanctuary]], [[Gujarat]], [[India]]
File:Trana - Common crane - (Grus grus) - Ystad-2023.jpg|A small flock flies over [[Ystad]].
File:Cranes-lots.jpg|A large gathering of cranes at [[Hula Valley]], [[Israel]].
File:Bronze-Sculpture of cranes, Croatia.jpg|The [[sculpture]] depicts two cranes ([[bronze]]), [[Croatia]].
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Cranes in Britain]]
* [[Lake Der-Chantecoq]] (migration stopover site)
* [[Hula Valley]] (migration stopover site)
* [[Lake Hornborga]] (migration stopover site)

==References==
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}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Grus grus}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131229055749/http://www.savingcranes.org/eurasian-crane.html Eurasian Crane] at the [http://www.savingcranes.org/ International Crane Foundation]
* {{InternetBirdCollection|eurasian-crane-grus-grus|Eurasian crane}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20120321003535/http://www.treffpunkt-ostsee.de/english/cranes/crane-grus-grus.php Observing cranes without disturbing them]
* {{Avibase|name=Grus grus}}
* {{VIREO|Common+Crane}}
* {{IUCN_Map|22692146/166235832|Grus grus}}
* {{Xeno-canto species|Grus|grus|Common crane}}

{{Gruidae|state=all}} 
{{Portal bar|Birds}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q4764}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Grus (genus)]]
[[Category:Birds of Eurasia]]
[[Category:Birds of Russia]]
[[Category:Birds of North Africa]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]