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The
bird Birds are a group of warm-blooded vertebrates constituting the class Aves (), characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a strong yet lightweig ...
genus ''Balearica'' (also called the crowned cranes) contains two extant species in the crane family Gruidae: the black crowned crane (''B. pavonina'') and the
grey crowned crane The grey crowned crane (''Balearica regulorum''), also known as the African crowned crane, golden crested crane, golden crowned crane, East African crane, East African crowned crane, African crane, Eastern crowned crane, Kavirondo crane, South ...
(''B. regulorum''). The species today occur only in Africa, south of the
Sahara Desert , photo = Sahara real color.jpg , photo_caption = The Sahara taken by Apollo 17 astronauts, 1972 , map = , map_image = , location = , country = , country1 = , ...
, and are the only cranes that can nest in trees. This habitat is one reason the relatively small ''Balearica'' cranes are believed to closely resemble the ancestral members of the Gruidae. Like all cranes, they eat
insect Insects (from Latin ') are pancrustacean hexapod invertebrates of the class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (head, thorax and abdomen), three pairs ...
s, reptiles, and small mammals.


Taxonomy

The genus ''Balearica'' was erected by the French zoologist
Mathurin Jacques Brisson Mathurin Jacques Brisson (; 30 April 1723 – 23 June 1806) was a French zoologist and natural philosopher. Brisson was born at Fontenay-le-Comte. The earlier part of his life was spent in the pursuit of natural history; his published wo ...
in 1760 with the black crowned crane (''Balearica pavonina'') as the
type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...
. The name is from the Latin ''Baliaricus'' for "of the Balearic Islands". The
crane Crane or cranes may refer to: Common meanings * Crane (bird), a large, long-necked bird * Crane (machine), industrial machinery for lifting ** Crane (rail), a crane suited for use on railroads People and fictional characters * Crane (surname) ...
family (Gruidae) is divided into the subfamily Gruinae of typical cranes and the subfamily Balearicinae of crowned cranes.


Extant species


Fossil record

Crowned cranes seem to have been more widespread prehistorically. Compared to the true cranes, genus '' Grus'', which were always common in the Holarctic and adjacent regions, the present genus appears to have had a more Atlantic distribution, ranging into Europe and North America; it is not known from the fossil record of Asia, as none have yet been discovered. *''Balearica rummeli'' (Early Miocene of Germany) – formerly ''Basityto'' *''Balearica excelsa'' (Early–Middle Miocene of France) – formerly ''Grus'' and ''Ornithocnemus'' *''Balearica exigua'' (Miocene of Nebraska)


References

Bird genera   {{Gruiformes-stub