Beautiful birds !!! Balearica pavonina!

Hi dear steemians!

This is my entry for contest - #аnimalphotography by @juliank and @photocontests

To say that the bird is divinely beautiful, then it is nothing to say!) I love crowned cranes for their beauty! Pass past the aviary is not possible! True, they do not always give themselves beautifully to take pictures, but if you really try, then you can catch the moment!) Usually they are always in motion)

Their cute crest is just wonderful! Crowned crane is quite a large bird from the family of real cranes. These beauties live in East and West Africa. Although their number reaches the norm, in recent years the bird has been added to the Red Book as a vulnerable species. Unfortunately, the number decreases every year and it is very sad (

Watching them is just a pleasure! They are so funny. something is constantly being considered, walking around the aviary with a very important view. People are treated with caution, they are not close to the grid. The weight of the bird, as it turns out, is not at all a big maximum of 5.5 kg, but I’d say an impressive meter in height.

Crowned cranes are diurnal and are considered omnivorous birds, as they can eat, everything they meet in their path. Grains, various seeds of plants, shoots of rice, insects, grasshoppers, for example) small reptiles, crabs and fish - they cause the most active interest. All day they slowly walk around their territory along rivers and lakes in search of food.

Basically, the color of these wonderful birds is black, but there are gray individuals. The crane family in total has 14 species. Each is beautiful in its own way. On the cheeks they have red and white spots, they are located one after another. And look at those long, slim legs! Well, how can you not admire their beauty!)

And my eyes just a fairy tale! These cranes are very unusual. Pale blue color, which by the way gives them a very interesting look, and I want to look into them. Birds make their nests near water bodies, using grass and small dry twigs. The female lays 2-4 eggs and in a month the chicks hatch.

These are wonderful beauties! Hope you liked the pictures!

Thank you all for your attention!

Regards @olechkarud