Thursday, March 11, 2010

Photo of the Week: Grey Crowned Crane (Uganda)


The statuesque Grey Crowned Crane is the national bird of Uganda, characterised by its magnificent head feathers like an upturned stiff brush. These distinguished looking birds forage in grasslands entertaining visitors to national parks. It is so popular in Uganda that it appears as the centrepiece of the national flag.

6 comments:

Heather on her travels said...

I wonder if there are plenty left - perhaps they are protected. The cedars of Lebabanon also feature on that country's flag but it was sad to see how few of them there were left!

BarbaraW said...

I've tried to capture the beauty and elegance of this bird in photos before but just haven't quite been able to nail it. Your shot is fabulous!

Lifecruiser Travel Blog said...

Sooooo beautiful! I love birds in any kind, but this is really special!

Shannon Hurst Lane (@CajunMama) said...

Gorgeous! Gorgeous! Gorgeous!

Sherry said...

The feathers on that bird look like brush strokes in a water color painting - gorgeous!

Mark H said...

@heather: Checking Wikipedia, they are marked as "vulnerable".

@barbara: Thank you. This guy got close enough and seemed preoccupied with eating that we had a chance of a reasonable photo.

@lifecruiser: They seem so distinguished to me with their head-dress.

@shannon: Absolutely gorgeous.

@sherry: What a great description of their head feathers.You capture it perfectly.

 
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