Red-crowned crane
Amazing fact
A red-crowned crane rubs oil from a gland near its tail onto its feathers.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
No sign-up needed. You can save notes on this device.
An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
A red-crowned crane rubs oil from a gland near its tail onto its feathers.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Red-crowned crane
- Scientific name
- Grus japonensis
- Japanese name
- タンチョウ
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Gruiformes
- Family
- Gruidae
- Genus
- Grus
Red-crowned cranes on the Asian mainland migrate, but those in Japan stay in Hokkaido and raise their young there.
The red patch on top of its head is not feathers but bare, exposed skin.
Pairs share a strong bond. In winter, a pair calls back and forth and dances facing each other.
How the Red-crowned crane lives
In marshes, they walk and peck for food. In spring they lay eggs, and the pair take turns incubating them. Chicks accompany their parents while they look for food in wetlands.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web上野動物園Smithsonian National ZooBasic data
- Size
- Total length: males about 137 cm, females about 125 cm
- Weight
- about 6–11 kg
- Diet
- Small mammals, chicks, amphibians, reptiles, fish, crustaceans, shellfish, and plants
- Range
- Northeast Asia
- Conservation status in Japan
- Near Threatened (NT)Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)
Where the Red-crowned crane has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- タンチョウ
- 简体中文
- 丹顶鹤
- 繁體中文
- 丹頂鶴
- 한국어
- 두루미
- Español
- Grulla de Manchuria
- Français
- Grue du Japon
- Deutsch
- Mandschurenkranich
- Português (Brasil)
- Grou-da-manchúria
- Italiano
- Gru della Manciuria
- हिन्दी
- लाल-मुकुट सारस
- العربية
- كركي ياباني
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Bangau Mahkota-merah
- Tiếng Việt
- Sếu Nhật Bản
- Русский
- Японский журавль
- Türkçe
- Japon turnası
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 上野動物園 — タンチョウChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Grus japonensisChecked: 2026-11-03
- Smithsonian National Zoo — Red-crowned craneChecked: 2026-11-05
- Ministry of the Environment of Japan, 5th Red List (2026)Checked: 2026-11-07
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
The conservation status in Japan is the category in the Red Lists of the Ministry of the Environment of Japan, which assess the risk of extinction for wild animals in Japan.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Red-crowned crane, look for this
- Look for its long, pointed bill.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Red-crowned crane
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Gruidae
MORE TO MEET
