Cranes in Guizhou Province

There are three species of cranes in Guizhou Province-Common (Grus grus), Black-necked (Grus nigricollis) and Hooded Crane (Grus monacha). Currently cranes are found only at Caohai in western Guizhou Province. Historically, Black-necked Cranes were recorded in Puan County in the early 1900s, and an injured bird was found in Xishui County in 2008; a small number of Common Cranes were recorded in Hongfeng Lake near Guiyang City in 1970s. Black-necked Cranes wintering in Guizhou Province migrate to Ruoergai of Sichuan Province to breed. According to one return of banded Black-headed Gulls (Larus ridibundus) and one of the Green-winged Teal (Anas crecca), these birds share the same wintering area in Guizhou with Common Cranes. One Black-headed Gull and one Green-winged Teal banded in Guizhou were recovered in Siberia (Russia), which allows us to suggest that Eurasian Cranes wintering in Guizhou may come from Siberia.