Scientific name -- Balearica spp.
Size -- 4' tall, 48 lbs.
Diet -- insects, grains, small vertebrates and eggs

These large birds congregate around wetlands in northern and central Africa. Their diet consists of plants, seeds, insects, frogs, worms, snakes, small fish and vertebrate eggs.

They can form large flocks of over sixty individuals, but like many large birds, crowned cranes mate for life. They are the only crane known to perch in trees and do not migrate (unlike North American cranes). Their trumpeting call is said to sound like "you wang, you wang". Their colorful plumage is used in elaborate courtship rituals, which have formed the basis of ceremonial dances for some African tribes, including the Masai.