Behaviour and Ecology
The cranes are diurnal birds that vary in their sociality by season. During the breeding season they are territorial and usually remain on their territory all the time. In contrast in the non-breeding season they tend to be gregarious, forming large flocks to roost, socialise and in some species feed. Species that feed on predominately on vegetable matter in the non-breeding season feed in flocks to do so, whereas those that feed on animals will usually feed in family groups, joining flocks only during resting periods, or in preparation for travel during migration. Large aggregations of cranes are important for safety when resting and also as places for young unmated birds to meet others.
Read more about this topic: Crane (bird)
Famous quotes containing the words behaviour and/or ecology:
“The methodological advice to interpret in a way that optimizes agreement should not be conceived as resting on a charitable assumption about human intelligence that might turn out to be false. If we cannot find a way to interpret the utterances and other behaviour of a creature as revealing a set of beliefs largely consistent and true by our standards, we have no reason to count that creature as rational, as having beliefs, or as saying anything.”
—Donald Davidson (b. 1917)
“... the fundamental principles of ecology govern our lives wherever we live, and ... we must wake up to this fact or be lost.”
—Karin Sheldon (b. c. 1945)