page_title: Grey crowned crane
section_title: Breeding
hierarchical_section_title: Grey crowned crane / Behaviour / Breeding
caption_attribution_description: Deutsch&#x3a;&#32; Ei von Südafrika-Kronenkranich. Sammlung von&#160;: René de Naurois / Jacques Perrin de Brichambaut.English&#x3a;&#32; Egg of Grey Crowned-Crane (East African) Collection of René de Naurois / Jacques Perrin de Brichambaut.Français&#x202f;&#x3a;&#32; Œuf de Grue royale d'Afrique de l'Est. Collection de René de Naurois / Jacques Perrin de Brichambaut.
context_page_description: The grey crowned crane, also known as the African crowned crane, golden crested crane, golden-crowned crane, East African crane, East African crowned crane, Eastern crowned crane, South African crane, is a bird in the crane family, Gruidae. It is found in eastern and southern Africa, and is the national bird of Uganda.
context_section_description: Grey crowned cranes time their breeding season around the rains, although the effect varies geographically. In East Africa the species breeds year-round, but most frequently during the drier periods, whereas in Southern Africa the breeding season is timed to coincide with the rains. During the breeding season, pairs of cranes construct a large nest; a platform of grass and other plants in tall wetland vegetation. The grey crowned crane lays a clutch of 2-5 glossy, dirty-white eggs, which are incubated by both sexes for 28–31 days. Chicks are precocial, can run as soon as they hatch, and fledge in 56–100 days. Once they are fully grown and independent, chicks of different sexes will separate from their parents to start their own family. Grey crowned cranes have been seen to congregate in large numbers in a ceremony akin to a wedding when two chicks are being married off. The new couple dance for a while before flying off together to start a new family.
caption: Eggs of Balearica regulorum gibbericeps at the MHNT
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