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Indian Wildllife Tours » Great India Wildlife Tour » Land Of The Tiger » Rajasthan Wildlife Tours » Temple & Tiger Tours   Read More... Wild Resort In India » Bandhavgarh Resort » Bharatpur Resort » Gir Jungle Resort » Kanha Resort   Read More... Taj With Wildlife Tours » Taj With Tiger Tours » Taj With National Parks » Taj With Ranthambhore   Read More... Cultural & Wildlife Tours » North India Cultural Tour » South India Cultural Tours » East India Cultural Tour » West India Cultural Tours   Read More... National Parks in India » Ranthambore National Park » Bandhavgarh National Park » Jim Corbett National Park » Kanha National Park   Read More... Animals in India » Black Buck » Cranes » Indian Elephant » Indian Rhino   Read More...	Animals in India » Cranes About Cranes in India The Sarus crane is the world's tallest flying bird; a large male may stand six feet tall. There are three recognized subspecies of the sarus crane. The Indian sarus cranes live, as their name implies, predominately in Asia's subcontinent. In areas dominated by the Hindu religion, the Indian sarus suffers little persecution. They have, as a result, lost much of their fear of humans and often nest in rice paddies where they are regarded as omens for good crops, especially in India. Eastern sarus cranes were once abundant in Southeast Asia, but after decades of war they are missing from most of their former range. The few that remain nest in Cambodia in small wetlands surrounded by dry forest, but migrate to Viet Nam's lower Mekong Delta to winter at the Tram Chim National Reserve. There is a smaller non-migratory population, discovered by ICF staff in 1996, that lives in Myanmar's Irrawaddy delta. The third subspecies is the Australian sarus crane. Habitat Northern and central India, southeastern Pakistan, southern Myanmar, Cambodia, southern Laos, Viet Nam, and northern Australia. The Philippine population of sarus cranes is probably extinct. Status Despite cultural and religious protections, sarus cranes are vulnerable in most areas. Roughly 8,000 to 10,000 Indian sarus remain, though the population is declining due to the loss of wetlands and increasing amounts of pollution as the human population continues to grow. The greatest concentration of Indian sarus cranes occur where land use practices have changed little from traditional patterns. Some fear that the whole wetland food web on which sarus cranes depend may be under stress as pesticides and fertilizers become more widespread in the subcontinent's rural areas. Even in India's Keoladeo National Park, the number of sarus nests has decreased since the early 1980s. The Eastern sarus population in Southeast Asia is estimated at 500 to 1,500 birds. This subspecies is subject to hunting, pollution, warfare, heavy use of pesticides, and development of the Mekong River. A rapidly growing human population threatens to overwhelm areas that these cranes rely on. There is also trade in and hunting of both chicks and adult birds in some areas. Individual and Social Behavior Cranes pursue small prey, and sometimes each other, by running. A running crane takes one to three steps per second and may use its wings for balance and to gain speed. While a running crane looks awkward, they can easily outrun humans. Cranes do not have webbed feet, but they can swim, although adult birds usually avoid deeper water unless necessary. Chicks are good swimmers and may leave the nest to follow the parents through the wetlands, sometimes within a few hours of hatching. Feathers give cranes both the ability to fly and to regulate their temperature. Made of the same material as human fingernails, feathers require constant attention. A crane preens by nibbling the base of a feather and then drawing it through the bill. Preening straightens and closes repairable gaps in the feather. When preening, cranes may apply oil to the feathers obtained from a special gland located on top of the tail. Contrary to previous belief, the oil does not serve as waterproofing, but helps condition the feathers and may also have fungicidal and antibacterial properties. Prolonged preening sessions follow water or dust bathing. Feeding Feeding is one of a cranes' most time-consuming activities. Cranes spend most of the daylight hours in areas where food is most abundant. Cranes forage for roots and the starchy swellings found on the roots of certain plants called tubers. They also eat seeds, small mammals and reptiles, eggs of other birds, and invertebrates, such as worms, clams, insects, and crayfish. While cranes spend a great deal of time caring for their feathers, the feathers still wear out and are replaced during a seasonal molt. Many crane species are flightless during the molt, which usually occurs during late spring when the adults are raising their chicks. It is not unusual for flightless cranes to stay near heavier cover until they and their young can fly. Cranes, such as the crowned cranes, living in predator-dense areas lose their feathers over a longer period of time and never become flightless. Flight and Migration Cranes typically run into the wind to achieve the lift necessary for flight, but if alarmed a crane can spring directly into flight. Cranes may fly as fast as 52 m.p.h. during level, flapping flight, but prefer to soar, especially during migration. When soaring in thermals (updrafts of warm air), cranes will circle until they reach a desired altitude, usually between 3,000 and 5,000 feet. Once the appropriate altitude is reached, the cranes leave the thermal and glide forward, slowly losing altitude. They then find another thermal and repeat the procedure. While slower than level flapping flight, soaring conserves energy. Cranes prefer to migrate at altitudes of less than 5,000 feet, but some species are forced to fly much higher. In North America, mountain ranges run north and south and birds migrate parallel to them. In Asia and Europe, however, mountain ranges, such as the Himalayas and Pyrenees, generally run east and west forcing cranes and other birds to negotiate mountain passes as high as 20,000 feet. Daily flights may range from a few miles in bad weather to several hundred miles if suitable stopover points are unavailable Legal Protection Cranes have both formal and informal protections around the world. Informal protections may include religious or cultural protections. Formal protections include state or local laws against the direct taking of individuals, and may, or may not, include protections for habitat. Laws against direct taking are often poorly enforced. In North America, hunting of cranes is regulated by state, provincial and international treaty. The Migratory Bird Acts of 1916 (between the U.S. and Canada) and of 1936 (between the U.S. and Mexico) regulates hunting of migratory species. It is illegal under these acts to take or possess regulated species or their parts (including eggs and feathers) unless there is a legal hunting season on that species, or if the person possessing the bird has been granted a permit for scientific purposes or for captive propagation. The U.S. also has the Endangered Species Act which protects rare species and their habitat, especially areas designated as critical habitat. Famous places for Bird Watching in India Some of the most prominent bird sanctuaries in India where a large variety of birds can be observed are the Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary that is part of Project Tiger, the Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary and the Corbett National Park. Here you can observe innumerable birds in their natural habitat, delight in their quaint habits and marvel at the will and steely determination in their tiny souls. For the dedication with which a nesting pair builds its nest and rears its young, is a truly remarkable sight that fills the heart with wonder. Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary The Sariska Wildlife Sanctuary extends over an area of 800 sq km in one of the few forest pockets in the Aravali ranges in Rajasthan. It is home to more than 200 species of birds, which include the Crested Serpent Eagle, Gray Hornbill, Wryneck Woodpecker Babbler, Black/Red Headed Bunting, White Breasted Kingfisher, Small Minivet, Little Brown Dove, Golden Oriole, Pale Harrier, Great Gray Shrike, and Tailor Bird, to name just a few. The sanctuary is a typical dry deciduous forest that remains lush and green during the monsoons and dry during the rest of the seasons. Its rich bird life. Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary The Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary is considered one of the best sites for bird watching in the world. It is an area spread out over about 30 square km of boggy marsh, woodlands and scrub and is home to both nesting indigenous birds as well as migratory water birds. More than 330 species of birds have already been spotted and identified here. The finest and rarest of migratory birds, the Siberian Cranes are the pride of this sanctuary and are regular visitors. There are only 125 pairs of these pure white, crimson-billed cranes estimated to survive worldwide. Corbett National Park The Corbett National Park is also regarded as one of the best bird parks of the world. Out of the 2,060 species and subspecies of birds recorded in the Indian subcontinent, over 600 of them have been recorded at Corbett at some or the other time! This number is greater than the total number of bird species found in Europe and equal to about one fourth of the diversity found in India. for instance, out of the 69 species of raptors found in India, 49 can be seen in Corbett.
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