Balearica

Balearica
Grey-crowned Crane
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: Animalia : Chordata : Aves : Gruiformes : Gruidae
Balearica Brisson, 1760

The bird genus Balearica consists of two species in the crane family Gruidae. These are the Black-crowned Crane (B. pavonina) and the Grey-crowned Crane (B. regulorum).

The species occur in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert, and are the only cranes that can nest in trees. This habitat is one reason why the relatively small Balearica cranes are believed to closely resemble the ancestral members of the Gruidae.

Like all cranes, they eat insects, reptiles, and other small mammals.