Red-crowned Crane
Liz Bonnin presents the red-crowned crane from Japan and Asia.
Tweet of the Day is the voice of birds and our relationship with them, from around the world.
Liz Bonnin presents the red-crowned crane from Japan and Asia. Backlit by a Japanese winter sun, huge black and white birds dance for an audience. Their plumage mirrors the dazzling snow and dark tree-trunks. The only spots of colour are crimson - the caps of these Red-crowned Cranes. Red-crowned Cranes breed only in far-eastern Russia. Tall, majestic and very vocal, red-crowned cranes gather in groups to reinforce pair-bonds, by leaping into the air and fluttering their 2.5 metre wings, sometimes holding sticks or twigs in their long bills. During winter months, the cranes are fed with grain, and receive a stream of captivated visitors. In front of a wall of clicking camera shutters, the cranes perform their elaborate dance, to delight their captivated audience.
Producer : Andrew Dawes
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Red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis)
Webpage image courtesy of David Pike / naturepl.com.
NPL Ref 01091454 © David Pike / naturepl.com
Recording of red-crowned crane by George W Archibald / Ref: ML 2776
This programme contains a wildtrack recording of the red-crowned crane kindly provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology; recorded by George W Archibald in March 1971, at Bronx Zoo, New York, USA.
Broadcasts
- Mon 8 Dec 201405:58BBC Radio 4
- Fri 20 Nov 201505:58BBC Radio 4
- Tue 16 Jul 201905:58BBC Radio 4
- Mon 19 Oct 202005:58BBC Radio 4
- Sun 28 Aug 202208:58BBC Radio 4
- Tue 22 Aug 202305:58BBC Radio 4
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