Common Crane (Eurasian Crane)
Latin: Grus grus (Linné 1758)
Svenska: Trana
Deutsch: Kranich
The dancing bird
Olof Rudbeck Jr. was a professor in Uppsala in the early 18th century. He created a birding book with actual-size drawings of many birds that had been shot. When they shot a common crane, though, they had to create an especially large book to make space for the extra large drawing!
You might have heard of the dance of the crane. This bonding dance between pairs or groups of cranes mostly occurs during the spring. One place is especially known in Sweden when it comes to cranes, Hornborgarsjön in Västergötland. Each year, thousands of cranes gather there and welcome the spring with their dance.
Common cranes eat practically anything. For long periods of the year, it eats mostly roots, leaves, and berries that it finds in the wetlands it loves to visit. The crane might also eat potatoes and leftover grains from farmer's fields. In the summer, they snatch up mostly dragonfly larvae, worms, small snails, tadpoles, and even small snakes and voles. A hungry crane might even snatch up a small bird.
Cranes have become more numerous in Uppland in recent years, and are fairly common in the northern and eastern parts of the county. They raise their young in wetlands and near lakes. Large flocks often gather near Hjälstaviken in August and September.Photo: Per Norberg©
Latest observations of common cranes in Uppland
Watch a movie about the dancing cranes of Sweden (Youtube)
NatureGate on the common crane
Wikipedia article on the common crane