page_title: Sarus crane
section_title: In culture
hierarchical_section_title: Sarus crane / In culture
caption_attribution_description: English: Sarus Crane. Reprint by Johann Michael Seligmann (1720-1762) after George Edwards. From Sammlung verschiedener auslandischer und seltener Vogel, Nurnberg, 1749-76.
context_page_description: The sarus crane is a large non-migratory crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height up to 1.8 m, they are a conspicuous species of open wetlands in south Asia, seasonally flooded Dipterocarp forests in Southeast Asia, and Eucalyptus-dominated woodlands and grasslands in Australia.
  The sarus crane is easily distinguished from other cranes in the region by the overall grey colour and the contrasting red head and upper neck. They forage on marshes and shallow wetlands for roots, tubers, insects, crustaceans, and small vertebrate prey. Like other cranes, they form long-lasting pair bonds and maintain territories within which they perform territorial and courtship displays that include loud trumpeting, leaps, and dance-like movements. In India, they are considered symbols of marital fidelity, believed to mate for life and pine the loss of their mates even to the point of starving to death.
context_section_description: The species is venerated in India and legend has it that the poet Valmiki cursed a hunter for killing a sarus crane and was then inspired to write the epic Ramayana. The species was a close contender to the Indian peafowl as the national bird of India. Among the Gondi people, the tribes classified as "five-god worshippers" consider the sarus crane as sacred. The meat of the sarus was considered taboo in ancient Hindu scriptures. It is widely believed that the sarus pairs for life and that death of one partner leads to the other pining to death. They are a symbol of marital virtue and in parts of Gujarat, it is a custom to take a newly wed couple to see a pair of sarus cranes.
  Although venerated and protected by Indians, these birds were hunted during the colonial period. It was noted that killing a bird would lead to its surviving partner trumpeting for many days and it was traditionally believed that the other would starve to death. Even sport hunting guides discouraged shooting these birds. According to 19th-century British zoologist Thomas C. Jerdon, young birds were good to eat, while older ones were "worthless for the table". Eggs of the sarus crane are however used in folk remedies in some parts of India.
  Young birds were often captured and kept in menageries both in India and in Europe in former times. They were also successfully bred in captivity early in the 17th century by Emperor Jehangir, who also noted that the eggs were laid with an interval of two days and that incubation period was 34 days. They were also bred in zoos in Europe and the United States in the early 1930s.
  The young birds are easily reared by hand, and become very tame and attached to the person who feeds them, following him like a dog. They are very amusing birds, going through the most grotesque dances and antics, and are well worth keeping in captivity. One which I kept, when bread and milk was given to him, would take the bread out of the milk, and wash it in his pan of water before eating it. This bird, which was taken out of the King's palace at Lucknow, was very fierce towards strangers and dogs, especially if they were afraid of him. He was very noisy—the only bad habit he possessed
  — Irby, 1861
  The Indian state of Uttar Pradesh has declared the sarus crane as its official state bird. An Indian 14-seater propeller aircraft, the Saras, is named after this crane.
caption: A plate by Johann Michael Seligmann published between 1749 and 1776 based on a work by George Edwards
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