Sarus Crane FAQ 2
This page covers food, drinking, nesting and development. Size, calls, locations and population numbers are in FAQ 1, and an introduction to Brolgas and Sarus Cranes with comparison photos is on Ozcranes Australia/New Guinea Cranes Intro page.
Food & water
←← Sarus Cranes feeding on corn (maize) stubble, Dry season, Atherton Tableland, far north Queensland (G & J Holmes)
← Indian Sarus Crane foraging in mudflat. Note, Indian Sarus Cranes are more brightly coloured (head and legs) than Australian Sarus, with whiter feather tracts on lower neck and tertials (rear wing) (International Crane Foundation)
← Indian Sarus Crane drinking (N Barbieri, Wikimedia Commons)
Like Brolgas, Sarus Cranes drink and bathe every morning and evening and often also during the day, and are omnivorous, eating many foods. However there are few feeding records for Australian Sarus. Maize seeds, native plants including grasses, grasshoppers and rats have been recorded, and it's been suggested they may feed on plentiful pipis (small molluscs) along the shores of Lake Tinaroo, Atherton Tableland.
Nests and eggs
← Sarus Cranes at nest, Qld. One chick has hatched, the male stands guard while the female turns the second egg (International Crane Foundation)
As with Brolgas, nesting is not colonial, but there is little information on Australian Sarus breeding. One published study for the Gulf of Carpentaria found that territories were 50-80ha. Nests were a heaped mound of vegetation near or in the water, often in swampy woodland with scattered trees. Brolgas in the same area mostly chose more open sites. One Australian Sarus nest has been measured (212 cm diameter). Sarus lay 1-4 (usually 2) eggs, 100mm x 62mm, weighing 182-214g. Both sexes incubate, hatching is in about 30 days (overseas data). Chicks leave the nest, swim and start feeding themselves at only 1-2 days old.
TOPDevelopment
← Young Sarus Cranes take several years to develop fully-coloured red skin on the head and neck (HANZAB2 ©JN Davies)
Both parents brood and guard the young, and give them extra food for several months. It's been assumed that the young (like Brolgas) are fully-feathered at around 14 weeks and can fly soon after, but there are no Australian data. They stay with their parents for up to 11 months until the next breeding season, and develop full head and leg colouring over the next 2-3 years (view image of first year immature with parents»). Unlike Brolgas, the stages of maturity for Australian Sarus are still being documented and there is, as yet, no reliable way to age older immatures on features observed in the field. It's assumed lifelong pair bonds form while birds are still immature, as overseas, with first successful breeding at about five years old.
Next: Sarus Crane FAQ 3| Habitats, behaviour, conservation»
« Back to Brolga & Sarus Crane Introduction
Most FAQ facts are from HANZAB2; other references in Ozcranes Resources.
