Sarus Crane vs White-naped Crane

Sarus Crane

Antigone antigone

Huge5.9 kgWetland

The adult sarus crane is very large, with grey wings and body, a bare red head, collar and nape, a greyish crown, and a long, greenish-grey, pointed bill. In flight, the long neck is held straight, unlike that of a heron (which folds it back), and the black wing tips can be seen; the crane's long, pink legs trail behind them. This bird has a grey ear covert patch, orange-red irises, and a greenish-grey bill. Juveniles have a yellowish base to the bill and the brown-grey head is fully feathered. The bare red skin of the adult's head and neck is brighter during the breeding season.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: Nikiforos Lytras · Public domain

White-naped Crane

Antigone vipio

Huge4.7 kgWetland

The white-naped crane can be identified by its grey body, reddish face patch, white throat, and the white strip going from the back of its crown down its neck, or nape. Juveniles differ by having a brown head and a pale throat. While this crane does have other species in its genus with similar characteristics, it can be distinguished by the white nape that is not present in the other species. The white-naped crane emits a variety of different calls: a growling contact call, or high pitched call at short ranges, and loud calls which differ between sexes.

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Recorded by Jochem Verweij · Call · Binder, Khentii, Mongolia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Christoph Moning, some rights reserved (CC BY), uploaded by Christoph Moning · cc-by

Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Sarus Crane and White-naped Crane.