White-naped Crane

The White-naped Crane is a medium-large crane with a mostly slate-grey body, a striking white stripe running down the back of the neck and nape, and a patch of bare red skin on the face extending around the eye. Its legs are a distinctive pale pink, unusual among cranes.

The species breeds in the grasslands and wetlands of Mongolia, northeastern China, and the Russian Far East, and undertakes long migrations to wintering grounds further south and east in Asia.

Key field marks

• Slate-grey body plumage
• White nape and back of the neck contrasting with a darker grey foreneck
• Bare red facial skin around the eye
• Distinctive pink legs

Similar species

The Common Crane has a black-and-white striped head pattern rather than a solid white nape stripe, and grey (not pink) legs. The Hooded Crane has a white head and neck rather than just a white nape stripe, with the rest of the body a darker slate grey.

White-naped Cranes breed in wetlands, river valleys, and grasslands across Mongolia, northeastern China, and the Russian Far East, often in areas with a mix of marshland and open steppe.

The species migrates to wintering grounds primarily in the Yangtze River floodplain of China (including Poyang Lake), the Korean Demilitarized Zone, and parts of Japan (notably Izumi), with the DMZ providing an unusually well-protected wintering refuge due to decades of limited human access.

White-naped Cranes forage in wetlands and grasslands for roots, tubers, insects, and small vertebrates, often walking through shallow marshes or open fields, and readily use agricultural areas for feeding during migration and winter.

They give loud, resonant calls and perform courtship dances typical of true cranes, including bowing and leaping displays. Nests are built on the ground in wetlands, typically with two eggs, and both parents share incubation and chick-rearing. The species is classified as Vulnerable due to wetland loss and degradation across its breeding, staging, and wintering ranges, particularly pressures on the Yangtze floodplain wetlands.