HEIGHT: 172 cm, 6 ft
WEIGHT: 7.8 kg, 14 lbs
POPULATION: >9,600
TREND: Probably decreasing
STATUS: IUCN: VU; Cites Appendix II; CMS II
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HEIGHT: 172 cm, 6 ft
WEIGHT: 7.8 kg, 14 lbs
POPULATION: >9,600
TREND: Probably decreasing
STATUS: IUCN: VU; Cites Appendix II; CMS II
Wattled Cranes have flaps of skin or “wattles” hanging from their chin that can indicate their mood – the wattles shrink if the crane is nervous or elongate if they are excited.
Adults – red skin on face, feathered flaps of skin or “wattles” hanging from chin, grey feathered crown, white neck, body plumage various shades of grey; juveniles – tawny body plumage, lack the bare skin on the face and have less prominent wattles.
Download FREE Wattled Crane images.
The Wattled Crane occurs in eleven sub-Saharan countries in Africa, including an isolated population in the highlands of Ethiopia. More than half of the world’s Wattled Cranes occur in Zambia. The single largest concentration occurs in the Okavango Delta of Botswana.
Tubers and rhizomes of submerged sedges (particularly Eleocharis spp.), grain, grass seed and insects.
Listen to Wattled Crane calls:
Guard Call | A sharp, single call expressing alarm.
Habitat loss, especially due to changing hydrology, invasive species, unsustainable exploitation of wetlands, human disturbance, fire and conversion of grasslands.
Restoring large floodplains that sustain Wattled Cranes in Southern Africa, and isolated populations in Ethiopia and South Africa. We are:
Fight the African Crane Trade.
Become a member of the International Crane Foundation.
Learn more about the Wattle Crane: