Eurasian cranes make a stopover in city

In good news for birdwatchers, the Common Crane species, which is not known to make a stopover in India, has been staying in Delhi’s Najafgarh Jheel since December 2017.

The slaty- grey plumage tall bird has long black legs and distinct black head and foreneck with prominent red patch on the crown, greyish- yellow beak and white stripe from behind eye, which extends up to both sides of the neck.

According to ecologists, the species, also called Grus grus or Eurasian crane, passes through India but doesn’t stop here.

“A flock of over 100 such birds has been recorded. Surprisingly, they have been staying here since December 2017. They have been recorded after a long time. Till now, they have been recorded only a few times in Punjab in Gurdaspur, in Rajasthan, and once in river Chambal,” said ecologist T. K. Roy.

It is one among five crane species found in India. It is distributed in Asia, Africa, and Europe and breeds in the northern part of Asia and Europe. It is an omnivorous species and feeds on plants as well as aquatic small animals as insects, reptiles, amphibians and birds. During Asian Waterbird Census ( AWC) conducted in January 2018, Najafgarh Jheel recorded 101 Common Cranes. The census is part of the International Waterbird Census ( IWC) of Wetlands International and the largest water bird census in Asia and is carried out simultaneously in 27 countries.