Jungfernkranich
| Jungfernkranich | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Virgin crane ( Anthropoides virgo ) |
||||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Anthropoides virgo | ||||||||||||
| ( Linnaeus , 1758) |
The Jungfernkranich ( Anthropoides virgo ) is the smallest species of the crane family (Gruidae). The species is a breeding bird of the boreal zone as well as the steppe and desert zones from south-east Europe through central Asia to north-west Mongolia and north-east China.
In Central Europe, the maiden crane is a very rare wanderer . For example, there were recognized wild bird watching for the Netherlands in the 1990s.
Appearance and voice
Adult birds
The young crane reaches a height of 90 to 100 centimeters and weighs around 2,500 grams. Its wingspan is 165 to 185 cm.
There is no conspicuous sexual dimorphism and the species also has no seasonal dimorphism . The forehead, a small area under the eyes, the back of the head, the chin, the neck and the elongated feathers on the front neck are black. Behind the eye is a sickle-shaped tuft of thin white feathers. The body plumage, the upper and lower wing-covers and the axillary feathers are blue-gray. The tail feathers and the long wing-covers stand out from it with a pale gray tone. The wings of the hand, the cloaks of the hands and the thumbs , on the other hand, are darker gray. The arm wings are black, the elbow feathers are long pointed and of a smoky gray color with dark ends.
The iris of adult birds is reddish brown. The beak is dark greenish at the base, then turns into an olive gray and is reddish to pink at the tip. The legs are dark and vary in color from olive gray to dirty black.
Fledglings
Freshly hatched downy young are brownish on the top of the head, yellowish on the head sides, the chin and the throat. The top of the body is gray-brown with dark stripes on the wings. The underside of the body is gray or whitish. The second dune dress is similar to the first, but overall a bit lighter and grayer. The iris is dark brown, the beak is pink with a gray tip. The legs are pink at first and turn blue-gray after a few days.
In the youth dress, the head, neck, body and wing covers are pale smoke gray. The decorative feathers on the head begin to form, but they are also still pale, smoky gray. The neck is already a darker, slate-gray color. In the first autumn-winter plumage, the young birds differed from the adults by a dull black on the head and neck. The elbow feathers, the elongated neck feathers, and the headdress are significantly shorter than that of adult birds. Young birds have a yellowish olive to reddish brown iris, the beak is olive gray at the base and yellowish to reddish in the distal area.
Locomotion
As with other crane species, the flight is straight and calm with far-reaching wing movements. Compared to other crane species, however, the flight is easier and more graceful. Younger cranes that fly up first need a short run-up. Flying flocks of young sand cranes often form a wedge shape when in flight. The black neck and breast color allows it to be distinguished from other crane species.
Basically, young cranes are diurnal birds. In the wintering areas, they occasionally gather in large flocks to rest and spend the night on open rivers and lakes or on sandbanks in the low water area. They are occasionally associated with gray cranes . They leave these sleeping places shortly before sunrise and they return at dusk. The so-called "dance" is not very pronounced in them compared to the other crane species. It consists of a short, fast run with wings raised, pirouettes, bows and throwing up tufts of grass, small twigs and similar things that the young cranes find on the ground. High jumps, as can be seen in other cranes, are missing in the dance of the young cranes. The dance is not tied to a season. It is shown particularly frequently during the spring migration and in the breeding season.
Presumably because of the poorly developed territoriality, there are no special ritualized threatening demonstrations that are typical for other crane species.
voice
The call of the young crane is higher, harder and rougher than that of the crane. The so-called unisone duet, in which two mated birds call together, is shorter than in other crane species. It only takes three to four seconds. Jungfernkraniche only move their head back while keeping their beak vertical. The wings are not raised as it can be seen in other crane species. The unisone Dutte can be heard especially during the breeding season in the breeding areas.
Breeding and wintering areas
The Jungfernkranich lives in the steppes of southern Russia , between the Ukraine and the east of Siberia and in some areas in northwest Africa and is therefore one of the steppe forms of the crane. Up until the 1920s, young cranes also breed in what is now Romania. However, the inventory expired in the 1920s.
The young crane winters in Africa and India as well as their neighboring countries Myanmar, Bangladesh and Pakistan. The main African wintering area is in Sudan on the upper and middle reaches of the White and Blue Nile. On his passage to and from Africa he crosses the eastern Mediterranean. Ringing ensures that the young cranes that breed in Ukraine overwinter in Sudan. Presumably this applies to the entire population that breeds in the west of the distribution area. In contrast, birds that breed in the Altai and Kazakhstan hibernate in India and Pakistan. In many regions the train runs in such a low concentration that it is almost imperceptible. Larger concentrations of migrating young cranes occur mainly on the western border of the Tienschan Mountains .
Juvenile cranes arrive at their breeding grounds from the end of March. In extreme cases, however, the arrival can drag on until mid-May. The migration to the wintering areas begins in mid-August and lasts until the end of September.
habitat
Young cranes breed in flat or slightly hilly steppe and semi-steppe areas in the plains or in the foothills. As a rule, their habitats have vegetation consisting of wormwood herbs and similar plants. Often their breeding areas are interrupted by bare salt patches. Usually a lake or similar body of water is not more than 1.5 kilometers away from their breeding site. Occasionally they breed in very high steppes. The maximum height distribution extends to 2300 to 2400 meters. But they are also increasingly using agricultural land. This can be observed in the south of Ukraine, in the Sivash region, in the Volga region as well as in large parts of Kazakhstan and the Altai.
food
Jungfernkraniche feed mainly on plants. In addition, however, they also eat animal food, especially during the breeding season. For young cranes that breed in Kazakhstan, the diet consists of wheat grains, tulip seeds and, in small quantities, also beetles. During the spring they also eat the green tips of the emerging cereal crops. In autumn they also use wheat ears. Wheat also plays a major role in their diet in the wintering areas. But they also eat millet and legumes there.
Reproduction
Young cranes become sexually mature at an age of two to three years. They are monogamous birds that form a pair bond that lasts over several reproductive periods.
Nest and clutch
Young cranes arrive at their breeding grounds at a time that coincides with the beginning of the growing season. As a nesting location, they usually choose places with irregular, not very tall vegetation. Sometimes they also breed in wheat fields and fallow land or in meadows that serve as pastures for cattle. A distance of three to four kilometers to neighboring pairs of young lemurs is typical. Since the territoriality of young cranes is much less pronounced than is the case with other cranes, even during the breeding season, neighboring nests are not more than 200 to 300 meters away. The nests are usually not more than 200 to 300 away from an open water point. In exceptional cases, however, the distance to the nearest body of water can be 1 to 1.5 kilometers.
The nest is usually nothing more than a shallow hollow that is very sparsely covered with stones, dry horse or sheep dung. Occasionally there is also a dry stem of herbs such as wormwood in the nesting trough. This sparse nest building is also missing on arable land or fallow land. The egg-laying occurs between the first decade of April and mid-May. The full clutch usually consists of two, in exceptional cases even three eggs. The laying interval between the eggs is between 24 and 48 hours. If the clutch is lost, there will be layovers at a new nesting site.
The eggs weigh an average of around 110 grams. The basic color of the shell is olive brown, olive green or olive gray. There is a spot on it that varies greatly in shape and quantity and is yellowish-brown, rust-brown or chestnut-brown.
Brood
Both parent birds are involved in the brood. The majority, however, falls on the female. The male is usually 300 to 400 meters away. If the brooding crane is disturbed, it will usually rise and then move away from the nest unobtrusively. It only flies up at a distance of about 30 to 50 meters, giving off an alarm call. The second parent bird usually also flies up and both circling for some time at a low height above the nest location. Only when there is no longer any danger does the female return to the nest.
The breeding season is 27 to 29 days.
Rearing the young birds
The chicks hatch in the period from the second half of May to the beginning of June. As with other crane species, the chicks behave aggressively towards one another. In spite of this, two young birds can grow up per clutch because they are each led by a parent bird in their first few days of life.
The chicks are able to eat independently after one week. The young are fledged after 55 to 65 days.
Existence and endangerment
The population size is estimated at 200,000 to 240,000 birds, but is decreasing sharply. Above all, the destruction of habitats and the threat from predatory game and feral dogs are responsible for this. In addition, Indian and East African hunters capture around a tenth of the migratory birds each season on their way to the main wintering areas. The IUCN classifies the maiden crane as "not endangered".
Jungfernkranich and humans
In 1758, Carl von Linné gave the maiden crane the Latin name Ardea virgo .
Young cranes were kept as ornamental fowl in China ("first rank bird") and in India ("most distinguished of all feathered birds ") as well as in ancient Egypt . About 4,000 year old reliefs in Egyptian tombs from the time of the pharaohs tell of this . The burial chamber of Ti also indicates that these birds and gray cranes were kept and fattened in semi-tame herds as sacrificial animals.
From the writings of the Roman Varro, it can be concluded that young cranes were also kept later as domestic birds. They were used to guard the house and yard, to reliably warn of predators and birds of prey with their loud trumpet-like screams . However, when Charlemagne changed a Salic law, this custom was lost.
supporting documents
literature
- Wolfgang Mewes, Günter Nowald, Hartwig Prange: Cranes - Myths. Research. Facts. G. Braun Verlag, Karlsruhe 2003, ISBN 3-7650-8195-7 .
- Heiner-Heiner Bergmann; Siegfried Klaus, Franz Müller, Wolfgang Scherzinger, Jon E. Swenson, Jochen Wiesner: The hazel grouse. Die Neue Brehm-Bücherei Volume 77, Westarp Wissenschaften, Magdeburg 1996, ISBN 3-89432-499-6
- RL Potapov, VE Flint (ed.): Handbook of the birds of the Soviet Union. Volume 4: Galliformes, Gruiformes. Aula Verlag, Wiesbaden 1989, ISBN 3-89104-417-8 .
Web links
- Brief information about the young leper crane
- Detailed page about the Jungfernkranich
- Inventory according to IUCN
- Videos, photos and sound recordings on Anthropoides virgo in the Internet Bird Collection
- Anthropoides virgo in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2008. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2004. Retrieved on January 25 of 2009.
Single receipts
- ↑ Hans-Günther Bauer, Einhard Bezzel and Wolfgang Fiedler (eds.): The compendium of birds in Central Europe: Everything about biology, endangerment and protection. Volume 1: Nonpasseriformes - non-sparrow birds , Aula-Verlag Wiebelsheim, Wiesbaden 2005, ISBN 3-89104-647-2 , p. 377.
- ↑ Bergmann et al., P. 167.
- ↑ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 250 and p. 251.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 251.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 255.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 255.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 252.
- ^ Ali, Salim: The Book of Indian Birds (Engl.), 13th ed., Bombay Natural History Society, Oxford University Press, 2002, p. 124
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 253.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 253.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 253
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 253.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 254.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 255 and p. 257.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 254.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 254.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 254.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 254.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 253 and p. 254.
- ^ Potapov & Flint, 1989, p. 255.