# Common crane (*Grus grus*)

Canonical page: https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-crane  
Data as of: 2026-11-11

The common crane (Grus grus), also called the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae in the order Gruiformes. It is a medium-sized bird with an adult body mass of 5.5 kg and a wingspan of 2.22 m. The common crane is a migratory, terrestrial omnivore of wetland habitats, with a geographic range of 15,460,000 km². It lays 2 eggs per clutch, one clutch per year, incubates them for 30 days, reaches sexual maturity at 5 years, and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.

## Quick facts

| Fact | Value |
|---|---|
| Weight | 5.35 kg – 5.5 kg |
| Length | Not recorded |
| Wingspan | 2.22 m |
| Lifespan | 39.4 years – 43 years |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Main food | omnivore |
| Habitat | wetland |
| Egg incubation | 30 days |
| Young per litter or clutch | 2 |
| Age at maturity | 5 years |
| Litters or clutches a year | 1 |
| Lifestyle | Terrestrial |
| Migration | Migratory |
| Conservation status | Least Concern (IUCN) |
| Countries on record | Not recorded |

## Classification

- kingdom: Animalia
- phylum: Chordata
- class: Aves
- order: Gruiformes
- family: Gruidae
- genus: Grus
- species: *Grus grus* (Linnaeus, 1758)

Synonyms: *Ardea grus*, *Grus canorus*, *Grus cinereus*, *Grus communis*, *Grus grus archibaldi*, *Grus grus grus*, *Grus grus lilfordi*, *Grus lilfordi*, *Grus linnéi*, *Grus nostras*, *Megalornis grus*, *Megalornis grus lilfordi*

## Common questions

### What kind of animal is the common crane?

The common crane is a bird of the family Gruidae, subfamily Gruinae, in the order Gruiformes.

### How big is the common crane?

The common crane has an adult body mass of 5.5 kg and a wingspan of 2.22 m, placing it in the medium size class.

### What does the common crane eat?

The common crane is an omnivore.

### Where does the common crane live?

The common crane lives in wetland habitats and is migratory, with a geographic range of 15,460,000 km².

### Is the common crane endangered?

No. The common crane is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.

### How long does the common crane live?

Sources give a lifespan of 39.4 years for the common crane, with values up to 43 years reported.

### How many eggs does the common crane lay?

The common crane lays 2 eggs per clutch and has 1 clutch per year, with an incubation period of 30 days.

### Who named the common crane?

The common crane, Grus grus, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).

## Sources

- [An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1), CC0 1.0, E096-269. Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1
- [AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds](https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7), CC BY 4.0, v7. Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7
- [Catalogue of Life eXtended Release](https://www.checklistbank.org/dataset/316691), CC BY 4.0, 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf
- [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org), per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed), 2026-11-11. Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence).
- [Wikidata](https://www.wikidata.org), CC0 1.0, 2026-11-11. Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service).
- [Wikipedia (English)](https://en.wikipedia.org), CC BY-SA 4.0, 2026-11-11. Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).

Cite as: Common crane (Grus grus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/common-crane