Balearica pavonina; black crowned crane

Japanese: カンムリヅル（英語表記）Balearica pavonina; black crowned crane

Order Gruidae, Family Gruidae. Total length 100-105cm. It has a golden fan-shaped crest (→ crest). The skin of the cheeks is exposed, the upper half is white and the lower half is pink, although in some subspecies the pink area is wider. It also has a small red throat pouch exposed. The chest to belly, back and tail are dark grey, and the feathers from the neck to the chest are long and tufted. The primary flight feathers are black, and the secondary flight feathers are brown. The coverts are white, and the part close to the body is golden and also tufted. The head is black. It is distributed discontinuously from Guinea to Sudan and Ethiopia in West Africa. It lives in the savanna, but also in dry grasslands and marshes. It is the only crane that can stay in trees and roost because its long fourth toe can grasp branches. The Grey Crowned Crane B. regulorum , found in South Africa, was once classified as the same species and looks very similar, but its cheeks are mostly white with a slight red area on the upper part, its neck is grayish-white, and it prefers wetlands.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ツル目ツル科。全長 100～105cm。頭部に黄金色で扇形の冠羽（→羽冠）がある。頬は皮膚が裸出し，上半分が白色，下半分がピンク色で，亜種によってはピンク色の部分が広い。また，小さな赤い喉袋が裸出している。胸から腹，背，尾は濃灰色で，頸から胸の羽毛は長く蓑状になる。初列風切は黒色，次列風切は褐色。雨覆は白く，胴体に近い部分は黄金色でこれも蓑状に伸びている。頭部は黒い。西アフリカのギニアからスーダン，エチオピアにかけて不連続に分布する。サバナに生息し，乾燥した草原や湿原でも暮らしている。第4趾が長く，枝をつかめるので，ツル類では唯一樹上に留まり，ねぐらをとることがある。南アフリカに分布するホオジロカンムリヅル B. regulorum はかつて同種に分類され，よく似ているが，頬の大部分が白く，上部にわずかに赤色部があり，頸は灰白色で，湿地のほうを好む。

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