The Crested Crane (balearica gibbericeps) is a bird in the crane family Gruidae. It is one of the most beautiful and majestic birds in Africa. Its crest consists of stiff gold feathers and its mostly grey in colour with a red facial sac below its beak. It is simply elegant and beautiful to behold in flight with its slow down strokes and flickering upstrokes. It occurs in dry savannah in Africa south of the Sahara, although it nests in somewhat wetter habitats. This bird does not migrate. They can also be found in marshes, cultivated lands and grassy flatlands near rivers and lakes in Uganda (where it is both the national bird and symbol) and other parts of Africa. The Crested Crane is what we would call a wedding bird -they make lifelong partners (if only marriage was that easy). This bird has a very elaborate mating ritual, its courtship dance is a grand display of feathers and a good stretch of its wings. And guess what? Despite the fact that these birds make lifelong partners, they always perform this courtship dance like theyre meeting for the first time. Aaawww how sweet, if the crested crane was human it would be an amazing romantic or a great marriage counsellor. #watalii #crestedcrane #weddingbird #savannah #visituganda
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 07:51:31 +0000