nominal definition
A large wading bird.
Species white crane
Appearance characteristics of white crane (Figure 1)
[1] Adult crane: Male and female are similar, and the female crane is slightly smaller. The skin from the base of the mouth, forehead to the top of the head and cheeks is bare, brick red and has sparse short hair, which is not found in other cranes. The body feather is white, the first flight feather is black, the second flight feather and the third flight feather are white. The third flight feather extends to cover the tail, usually covering the black primary flight feather when standing, so the appearance is all white, but you can see the black primary flight feather when flying. White crane chicks: young birds migrating south in autumn, with no exposed forehead and face and dense rust yellow feathers; The head, neck and upper back are brown, and the wings are brown, but the main flight feathers are black. From autumn to the following spring, the white feathers on the head, neck, body and tail gradually increased. After overwintering, except for the yellow feathers on the neck and shoulders, the rest of the feathers have turned white, almost like adults. White crane (Figure 2)
The iris is yellow and white, and the mouth and feet are red. The young bird's iris is khaki, and its mouth and feet are dark gray. The feet turn red in the second year and the mouth turns red in the third year. Subspecies differentiation: Although the crane is divided into three populations: East, Middle and West, it is a monotype species without subspecies differentiation. [2] Distribution range of white crane (Figure 3)
White cranes are mainly distributed in the northeast of China to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. At the time of migration, they were found in Hebei (Luanhekou and Beidaihe), Inner Mongolia (Chifeng, Dalai Lake, Xing 'an League and Zhelimu League), Liaoning (Shuangtaihekou and Dalian), Jilin (Momoge and Xianghai), Heilongjiang (Zhalong and Lin Dian) and Anhui (Wuchang Lake and Zhelimu League). Distribution map of white crane
[3] There are three independent crane populations in the world, namely, the eastern population, the central population and the western population; Oriental population breeds in northeast Siberia and overwinters in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The central population breeds in the lower reaches of the Kunova River in Siberia and overwinters in Claudio National Park in Rajasthan, India. Western populations breed in northwest Russia and spend the winter in the south bank of Caspian Sea. [2] Cranes with living habits are cranes with habitat requirements (Figure 4).
The most specialized cranes have a strong attachment to shallow wetlands. Oriental population breeds in Yakutia, Russia, and does not nest in Arctic tundra, nor in coastal estuarine lowlands and floodplains or highlands, preferring lowland tundra with large fresh water area and broad vision. The main nesting area in summer is about 82 000 k㎡ ㎡, and the conventional nesting area is not more than 30 000 k㎡ ㎡. It is omnivorous in the breeding ground, including roots, underground stems, buds, seeds, berries, insects, fish, frogs, mice and so on. When it is difficult to get plant food covered with snow, it mainly feeds on lemmings and mice. When the temperature is below 0℃ in mid-May, the crane mainly eats cranberries. When the wetland freezes, they eat reed tubers, dragonfly larvae and small fish. During the nesting season, cranes mainly eat plants, including veratrum nigrum (Figure 6).
Roots, seeds of Dioscorea zingiberensis, buds of Equisetum equisetum and roots and stems of Umbelliferae (Johnsgard, 1983). On the way south, the white crane foraged for tender roots, frogs and small fish of Ophiopogon japonicus, Alisma orientalis, Sparganum and other plants in the tundra swamp of Daxinganling forest region in Inner Mongolia. In the overwintering Poyang Lake, the underground stems and roots of aquatic plants such as Sophora alopecuroides, POTAMOGETON malayi, water chestnut and Polygonum hydropiper are mainly excavated as food, accounting for more than 90% of the total food intake, followed by a small amount of clam meat, small fish, snails and gravel. [2] The growth and reproduction of the white crane is solitary, and the white crane in May (Figure 5).
In the later nesting site, the tundra is still covered with snow and ice, and the nest is built on the shore of an open swamp or on a grassy mound with a water depth of 20-60 cm. The nest is simple, and the nest material is mainly Sophora alopecuroides. The nest is flat with a slightly concave center, with an altitude of12-15 cm and a nest distance of10-2-3 km, sometimes only. The spawning period usually coincides with the melting period of ice and snow. From late May to mid-June, each nest lays 2 eggs, which are dark olive with dark brown spots at the blunt end. Male and female cranes hatch eggs alternately, but female cranes are the main ones. The incubation period is about 27 days, and the incubation rate is only 1/3. Most young cranes hatch from late June to early July, but only 65438+. International Crane Foundation 198 1 and Beijing Zoo 1989 artificially inseminated female cranes successfully hatched and propagated. In 2000, in Hefei Wildlife Park, 1 pair of white cranes mated by themselves in captivity, and naturally propagated successfully, and then propagated successfully in 2006, 5438+0 and 2002. [2] The disturbance to the breeding ground is relatively small, and it is mainly threatened by oil exploitation and deforestation. When the parent crane is not near the nest, eggs are often eaten by skua, arctic gull and silver gull. In assembly areas, migration stopovers and wintering areas, the main environmental pressures are the loss and destruction of biological resources such as wetlands, fish and reeds due to population growth and rapid economic development, as well as human interference such as grazing and illegal fishing gear fishing. The operation of the Three Gorges Project may reduce the water surface of wetlands in the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, thus adversely affecting white cranes and other cranes wintering here. White crane (Figure 7)
The migration route of species migrating to the eastern part of Baihe has been proved by environmental records. It migrates 5 100 km from Yakutia to Poyang Lake for wintering, passing through the Yana River, the indigenous Erka River and the Ko Jorge Lema River basins in Russian territory. After entering China, it mainly passes through Zhalong, Lin Dian, Momoge, Shuangtai Estuary, Luanhe Estuary, Old Yellow River and Jinsheng Lake. In Momoge, a certain number of individuals still stay here for 30-40 days in spring and autumn, except that some populations stay for a short time and continue to migrate. The dates of the first sightings of 1985 and 1986 in spring were March 25th, both of which moved around May 10, and 528 was seen on April 27th, 2000. The autumn migration dates of 1983 and 1984 are both September14; According to the statistics of the number of young cranes, it is found that the average proportion of young cranes aged 3 months in autumn of 1985 and 1986 is 22.3%, which is the average white crane compared with the proportion of young cranes in the wintering area of 65438+late February in the same period (Figure 8).
[4] 8.8% higher; 1985 and 1986 in spring, 126 white cranes, there are 22 9-month-old young cranes, accounting for 17.5% of the total. Compared with the autumn of the same year, the proportion of young cranes decreased by 4.8% (Wu Zhigang et al., 19965438). The wintering white cranes in Poyang Lake arrived in late June and early October 165438+ 10, and were divided into small groups from February 65438 to the following year 10, mainly foraging in the shallow waters of the lake and staying overnight in the mussel lake cluster. From late February to early March, when the temperature reached above 10℃, large groups gradually integrated and returned to the north, and all of them moved away by the end of March, and the wintering period reached 150 days. The family is the main unit in the activity, most of them are 1 infant, and 1 infant or 20% infant are very few. Sub-adult integration 10- 12 small groups act together. When foraging, parents should feed the young crane, and it was not until the middle of February of the following year that the young crane began to dig for food by itself (Yan Li et al.,1986; Liu Zhiyong et al., 1987). 1In the winter of 1980, researchers from the Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences first discovered that there were 9 1 crane in lakes and swamps. After that, the highest year was close to 4 000, and it can be considered that more than 90% of the eastern crane population overwinters in Poyang Lake. Discussion on Classification archibald (1976) suggested that the crane should be classified as a genus from the genus Gallus and renamed as crane grass; The chirping of the crane and the exposed skin and trachea on the head are not curled in the keel of the sternum. Since then, Wood (1979) found that the white crane is similar to the drooping crane in skeletal characteristics, thus agreeing with archibald's opinion, and John Sgard (1983) also adopted this name in his monograph "Cranes of the World", but most scholars still classified the white crane as a crane, retaining the earliest name. The protection level was listed in the IUCN international bird red book, and in 2009 it was listed as ver 3.1-extremely dangerous (CR playing with white cranes.
)。 [5] Endangered CITES listed in the Washington Convention: Appendix I, year of entry into force: 1997. Included in the national key protection level: Grade I, effective year: 1989. Listed in China Red Book of Endangered Animals: Validity Year of Endangered Animals: 1996.
Cultural significance
The white crane occupies a place in China culture, symbolizing good luck and longevity. The villagers in Sanzao, Zhuhai, Guangdong Province started their activities from the first day of the Lunar New Year to the seventh day, all of them danced lions and played with cranes. On New Year's Eve, the crane in the new office will be covered with red flowers, and the respected elders will make the finishing touch for the crane to show their spiritual strength (touch cinnabar and eyes with a new brush). Crane dance imitates white cranes: combing feathers, looking for food, drinking water, flying, resting, squatting down and listening to crane songs. Crane song is an important part of crane dance. Compose and sing by yourself, in groups of four sentences, with no limit on length. If you don't want to continue singing, according to the convention, the singer only needs to sing "Let the feathers fly to the sky" and the crane song will be over. Lyrics praise social development, do good deeds and accumulate virtue, persuade people to be good, teach people to make progress, and have entertainment functions.