Cranes
Common cranes (Grus grus) in Rajasthan
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Gruiformes
Family:	Gruidae Vigors, 1825
Genera
Grus Anthropoides Balearica Bugeranus

Pine, Plum and Cranes, 1759 AD, by Shen Quan (1682—1760): hanging scroll, ink and colour on silk. The Palace Museum, Beijing

The bare area of skin on the face of a sandhill crane. This can change colour or even expand in area when the bird is excited

A crane is a type of tall wading birds from the family Gruidae (order Gruiformes). There are 15 species in 4 genera. The tallest is the sarus crane, Grus antigone, which can grow to a height of up to 1.8 m (5.9 ft),

Cranes look a lot like herons but they are usually larger, and have a partly naked head, and a more heavy bill. When they are flying, their long neck is stretched out in front, and the legs trail out behind.

The earliest fossils of cranes were discovered in North America. Living forms are living everywhere all over the world except in Antarctica and South America. Many populations are endangered by hunting and habitat destruction.