About this species
The Demoiselle Crane (Grus virgo) is the smallest and most graceful of the world's 15 crane species, with blue-grey plumage, a black front-neck, white ear tufts and bright red eyes. It breeds on dry grasslands and semi-arid steppes from the Black Sea to north-eastern China.
The species is famous for its dramatic autumn migration over the Himalayas — flocks of hundreds cross the highest peaks to reach traditional wintering grounds in the Thar Desert of Rajasthan (India), the Indus Valley (Pakistan), and north-east Africa. The annual gathering of tens of thousands of Demoiselle Cranes at Khichan, Rajasthan, where local communities feed them, is one of the great wildlife spectacles of India.
The global population is estimated at 200,000–240,000 individuals and is generally stable, though some Central Asian populations face threats from habitat conversion and power-line collisions.
