The Blue Crane Grus paradisea is truly a magnificent creature and worthy of being South Africa’s national bird.  It is also known as the Stanley Crane ,the Paradise Crane and some taxonomies consider its scientific name Anthropoides paradiseus.  Sadly, because of its small and declining population BirdLife International classifies the Blue Crane as Vulnerable.

A dancing Blue Crane by Adam Riley

Blue Crane photo by Alistair Rae from Wikimedia Commons

Written by Corey
Corey is a New Yorker who lived most of his life in upstate New York but has lived in Queens since 2008. He's only been birding since 2005 but has garnered a respectable life list by birding whenever he wasn't working as a union representative or spending time with his family. He lives in Forest Hills with Daisy and Desmond Shearwater. His bird photographs have appeared on the Today Show, in Birding, Living Bird Magazine, Bird Watcher's Digest, and many other fine publications. He is also the author of the American Birding Association Field Guide to the Birds of New York.