Fun Demoiselle Crane Facts For Kids

The demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) is the smallest crane species, which has the second-largest population of cranes. They migrate across central Europe and Asia during the winter and breed across the well-known black sea and Central Africa and Asia.

These cranes migrate in large flocks for winter in the northern part of the country in the grasslands. Like other cranes, demoiselles are monogamous.

Demoiselle cranes prefer to build nests in areas that are loosely covered with grass, such as steppes. They do not build a concave cavity. They defend their nests using aggressive behavior.

Once the eggs hatch, they no longer nest their chicks, and they begin to feed on grass and other animals. They then start to wander around together, avoiding becoming too close to water.

The Anthropoides virgo is a solitary bird.

However, it is also very social and forms bonds and mating with one another through social activities or its flocks.

Demoiselles are migratory and will fly in flocks, thousands of miles, to their wintering grounds. Humans can be a great threat to their population since they are also hunted and trapped as a source of food, and also since they destroy the human agricultural fields praying on crops, these species are harmed to avoid that.

They have a threat of habitat loss because various factors such as the conversion of grasslands and also the wintering grounds for breeding and wintering have been given up due to deforestation and excessive human and other animals' occupancy of their natural habitat.

If you like birds and find them amusing, you can also check out golden hooded tanagers and green hermits.

Demoiselle Crane Interesting Facts

What type of animal is a demoiselle crane?

Demoiselle cranes are large birds belonging to crane species.

What class of animal does a demoiselle crane belong to?

Demoiselle cranes belong to the Aves class of animals from the phylum.

Who do demoiselle cranes live with?

Demoiselle cranes live in groups which are the bird flocks called swoops.

How long does a demoiselle crane live?

The demoiselle crane lifespan ranges about 27 years in its natural habitat in the wild world. There is the fact that a demoiselle crane habitat without a wild environment under human care lived up to 67 years which was the highest.

How do they reproduce?

The reproduction of the demoiselle crane, Anthropoides virgo, takes place after four to eight years of their birth, and the breeding depends on the local rainy season of their migration place; the breeding is mostly observed in North India, black sea regions, china, and north Africa.

They perform a mating pairing dance during copulation, which is also a way of communication during the process of reproduction.

These extravagant mating behaviors are performed by Anthropoides virgo cranes.

They begin by forming a bond between two individuals. Then, vocalizations are used to maintain the bond.

What is their conservation status?

These crane species have a good population count, which makes their conservation status Least Concern since many are found migrating across the world on all grounds. Some cultural beliefs across countries like China and Afghanistan play a role in the conservation of these birds.

Though they belong to least concern some of the human activities, habitat loss and other animals possess threat.

The population range is between 230,000-261,000 individuals approximately. There is an international crane foundation that has all the 15 species of crane population range located in the United States of America.

Demoiselle Crane Fun Facts

What do demoiselle cranes look like?

These cranes are slender with long necks, which is the characteristic of the cranes. They are gray and whitish with rounded feathers, and they have two long and very thin legs.

Their feathers elongate on either side of their head, along with the red pupils of their eyes. Their eggs hatch to be gray-colored chicks and mature to be adult cranes. They are unique and graceful in appearance than other cranes.

Their eggs are also unlike other birds; they have gray shells with a patchy appearance. These cranes have bright red eyes with black spots in the middle, which gives them a strong look.

How cute are they?

They are cute and attractive looking; they were compared with a French queen Marie Antoinette for their beauty and also compared to beautiful young women but can be violent if there is a lot of human attention because all cranes are shy of any kind of human contact.

How do they communicate?

Demoiselle cranes have developed communication skills at a younger age though their voice is not fully enriched. Even around their nest and nesting period, they communicate through different patterns of calls and show a behavioral change with different dances representing many calls like fluttering their tail and moving feathers in the pattern.

These species show threat postures like hissing to alert their flock.

How big is a demoiselle crane?

The demoiselle cranes have a total body size of between 33.4-39.3 in (85-100 cm), and it is five times bigger than the bald eagle.

How fast can a demoiselle crane fly?

The crane demoiselle flies at a speed of around 25-30 mph (40-49 kph), half the speed of an albatross.

How much does a demoiselle crane weigh?

The weight of the demoiselle crane ranges between 70.48-95.15 oz (2000-2700 g). It is the smallest among all other crane species, two-thirds the size of a black-crowned crane.

What are the male and female names of the species?

The demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo) doees not have separate names to describe the male and female.

What would you call a baby demoiselle crane?

The baby bird can be called a chick.

What do they eat?

The demoiselle crane's food habits are that they eat both animals and plant sources like other birds, insects, and terrestrial worms, and also grass crops, plant seeds, and nuts. Since they are omnivores, they do not have many diet restrictions.

Are they dangerous?

The crane (demoiselle) is not dangerous but poses a threat to crops since they also feed on a few seeds, grains, and nuts from plant sources. So they might end up harming human agricultural fields, which can be considered their major source of diet.

Would they make a good pet?

The demoiselle cranes are migratory birds, so they do not stay in one place constantly and are comfortable in their natural habitat, so they would not make an ideal pet. Some people across Asia and Africa have tried to have them as pets but failed as parents due to a lack of a good diet for them.

The Crane Foundation actually takes care of them under the status of exotic birds, so they might be found in zoos and foundations like the Crane Foundation.

Did you know...

These cranes fake hurt their wings to predators in order to protect their nests and eggs.

These birds were recognized first by the French, and were compared to the queen Marie Antoinette.

Demoiselle cranes are one among popular birds that show migration in India, mainly for wintering and to have a habitat to protect the nest and has become a tourist attraction in Rajasthan, India.

Why is it called demoiselle crane?

These birds get their name from the French origin, where the word demoiselle means pretty young lady because of their appearance. It also came from the word Damsel that refers to the insect-eating species; in Hindi (commonly used in India), they are called Kunj.

How high can a demoiselle crane fly?

Demoiselle cranes fly high - a 5-8 m (16.4-26.2 ft) height from ground level; since these birds migrate long distances and migration is important for their life cycle, they keep their body straight and head and neck high with eyes wide open to look for the threats and also prey.

Here at Kidadl, we have carefully created lots of interesting family-friendly animal facts for everyone to discover! Learn more about some other birds, including ruby-throated hummingbird facts and yellow-breasted chat facts pages.

You can even occupy yourself at home by coloring in one of our free printable sandhill crane coloring pages.