Birds of India - The New Synopsis

A complete checklist of bird species and subspecies found in India

Gruiformes (Cranes and Rails)

Gruidae (Cranes)

• Leucogeranus Bonaparte, 1855 Conspectus generum avium 2 p.99 Grus leucogeranus Pallas, 1773; Type by tautonymy
  • 166. Siberian Crane Leucogeranus leucogeranus (Pallas, 1773) [HB#325]
    Original Description: Grus Leucogeranus Pallas, 1773 Reise durch verschiedene Provinzen des Russischen Reichs 2 p.714
    Distribution: Winter: Historically much of N India in select sites but recently only in Bharatpur. They completely stopped wintering after 2002.
    Specimens: NHMUK, UMMZ, LKO
    IUCN: Critically Endangered. WLPA: Schedule-I. CITES: Appendix I. CMS: Appendix I.
    Notes: Presumably extirpated and hence considered locally extinct.
  
  
• Antigone Reichenbach, 1853 Avium Systema Naturale. Das natürliche System der Vögel mit hundert Tafeln grösstentheils Original-Abbildungen der bis jetzt entdecken fast zwölfhundert typischen Formen. Vorlaüfer einer Iconographie der Arten der Vögel aller Welttheile p.XXIII Grus torquata Vieillot, 1817; Type by original designation = Ardea antigone Linnaeus, 1758
  • 167. Sarus Crane Antigone antigone (Linnaeus, 1758)
    IUCN: Vulnerable. SoIB: High. WLPA: Schedule-I. CITES: Appendix II. CMS: Appendix II.
    • 167a. Antigone antigone antigone (Linnaeus, 1758) [HB#323]
      Original Description: Ardea Antigone Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.142 (Farther India)
      Distribution: Jammu south through Indo-Gangetic plains till about Bihar, C India east till N Chhattisgarh, E Madhya Pradesh. and E Maharashtra, west till W Gujarat and eastern edges of Thar in Rajasthan. Historically till N Bengal and W Assam.
      Specimens: BNHS, UMMZ, AMNH, FMNH, YPM, FTLB
    • [Antigone antigone sharpii (Blanford, 1895) [HB#324]]
      Original Description: Grus (Antigone) sharpii Blanford, 1895 Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 5 p.7
      Distribution: Historically, E Assam and Manipur valley.
      Notes: No specimens traced to support this claim though Higgins (1934, JBNHS 37 (1): 82) recounts flocks in Manipur valley. The nearest present-day site of this taxon is c.350km N-NE at Indawgyi Lake in Myanmar. Reports of Cranes from Manipur, this as well as Hooded Crane G. monacha Temminck, 1835 (see Karam & Shaikh 2020, IB 16 (2): 51), have been difficult to evaluate in the absence of independently verifiable evidence; but may well have been true.
  
  
• Grus Brisson, 1760 Ornithologia sive synopsis methodica sistens avium divisionem in ordines, sectiones, genera, species, ipsarumaque varietates 5 p.374-391 cdP Grus Brisson ; Type by tautonymy = Ardea grus Linnaeus, 1758
  • 168. Demoiselle Crane Grus virgo (Linnaeus, 1758) [HB#326]
    Original Description: Ardea Virgo Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.141 (India)
    Taxonomy: Sometimes considered under the genus Anthropoides (see eBird/Clements) which is otherwise not recognised by other authorities.
    Distribution: Winter: Base of W Himalaya, Indo-Gangetic plains east till about Lucknow, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and south till about Ballari in Karnataka – straggler further east and south.
    Specimens: BNHS, UMMZ, YPM, LKO, FTLB
    IUCN: Least Concern. SoIB: High. WLPA: Schedule-I. CITES: Appendix II. CMS: Appendix II.
  
  
  • 169. Common Crane Grus grus (Linnaeus, 1758) [HB#320]
    Original Description: Ardea Grus Linnaeus, 1758 Systema Naturæ per Regna Tria Naturæ, Secundum Classes, Ordines, Genera, Species, cum Characteribus, Differentiis, Synonymis, Locis. Tomus I. Editio decima, reformata 1 p.141
    Distribution: Winter: Gangetic plains, Rajasthan, Gujarat, Maharashtra and adjoining W and N Madhya Pradesh, N Bengal and Assam plains while straggling to other parts of the country, east and south.
    Specimens: ZSI, UMMZ, MCZ, USNM
    IUCN: Least Concern. SoIB: High. WLPA: Schedule-I. CITES: Appendix II. CMS: Appendix II.
  
  
  • 170. Black-necked Crane Grus nigricollis Przevalski, 1876 [HB#321]
    Original Description: Grus nigricollis Przevalski, 1876 Mongoliya i strana tangutov: trekhletneye puteshestviye v vostochnoy nagornoy Azii 2 p.135
    Distribution: Breeding: Ladakh and N Sikkim. Winter: Historically in Ziro but also in Zemithang and Sangti in Arunachal, straggling to Assam plains.
    Specimens: UMMZ, FMNH
    IUCN: Near Threatened. SoIB: Moderate. WLPA: Schedule-I. CITES: Appendix I. CMS: Appendix I.