Blue Crane

Scientific Name: Grus paradisea Animal Type: Bird Location: South Africa. Conservation Status: Vulnerable

Profile

The tall and elegant blue cranes are striking members of the community of birds that occupies the renovated valley area of Durrell’s Jersey headquarters.

The blue crane is the national bird of South Africa, but in many areas populations have declined by up to 90% in the last 30 years, and are continuing to drop. Poisoning, either accidental or deliberate, is a threat, along with the replacement of the grassland habitats it prefers with timber plantations.

These cranes have an eclectic diet of vegetation, agricultural crops, invertebrates and small vertebrates, and form pair bonds each breeding season. Like other crane species, blue cranes have an elaborate ‘dancing’ courtship display that helps to cement the relationships between males and females.