Black-necked Crane vs Red-crowned Crane

Black-necked Crane

Grus nigricollis

Huge6.0 kgWetland

This medium-sized crane is mostly grey with a black head and neck. The lores and crown are naked and dull red. A small patch of white feathers are present below and behind the eye. The tail is black and makes it easy to distinguish at a distance from the similar looking common crane which has grey tail.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Henggang Cui · CC0

Red-crowned Crane

Grus japonensis

Huge8.8 kgWetland

Adult red-crowned cranes are named for a patch of red bare skin on the crown, which becomes brighter during the mating season. Overall, they are snow white in color with black on the wing secondaries, which can appear almost like a black tail when the birds are standing, but the real tail feathers are actually white. Males are black on the cheeks, throat, and neck, while females are pearly gray in these spots. The bill is olive green to a greenish horn, the legs are slate to grayish black, and the iris is dark brown.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Animalculum · CC BY 4.0

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Black-necked Crane and Red-crowned Crane.