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Collection  >  Order (Birds)  >  Order Information (Gruiformes)

Gruiformes

Gruiformes, Latin grūs (“crane”) and Latin -fōrmis (“-shaped”), means “crane-like”, in reference to the fact that these animals are all crane-shaped and crane-related.

Cranes, limpkins, rails, finfoots, flufftails

Photos

Total species known

192

Species in the collection

7

Species in Hong Kong

16

DISTRIBUTION

Worldwide except Antarctica and some oceanic islands.

SIZE

Certain species can reach lengths of up to 176 cm. Others range in length from 12 to 63 cm and weight from 20 to 3,000 g.

MORPHOLOGY

The largest species are sleek-looking birds with big, circular wings that have long necks and legs. The smallest and medium-sized live on the ground. Many of them are laterally compressed, and some have lengthy necks. The most erratic aspect is the bill. It may be huge, short and wide, or longer than the head in certain species. Some of them have a frontal shield.

ECOLOGY & HABITAT

Slow-flowing streams, sawgrass, saltwater or freshwater marshes, cypress swamps, forest and dense brush, grassland  arid plains, pastures and cultivated fields.

DIET

Omnivorous: aquatic vegetation, mollusks, frogs, and small fish, larger animals as rats, moles, lemmings, lizards, and snakes.

REPRODUCTION

Although cases of polygyny and polyandry have been documented, the majority are believed to be monogamous. They typically lay five to ten eggs.

REFERENCES

del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D. A. (2010). Handbook of the Birds of the World Series. Lynx Edicions.

Lovette, I. J., Fitzpatrick, J. W. (2016). Handbook of Bird Biology. Wiley-Blackwell.

Gill, F. B., Prum, R. O. (2019). Ornithology. W.H. Freeman & Co. Ltd.

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