See text Cranes are a type of large bird with long legs and necks in the biological family Gruidae of the order Gruiformes.

[citation needed] They eat a range of items from small rodents, eggs of birds, fish, amphibians, and insects to grain and berries.

In some species, the entire sternum is fused to the bony plates of the trachea, and this helps amplify the crane's calls, allowing them to carry for several kilometres.

On the other hand, it is peculiar that numerous fossils of Ciconiiformes are documented from there; these birds presumably shared much of their habitat with cranes back then already.

[2] In Australia, the Brolga occurs in the breeding areas of Sarus Cranes in Queensland state, and they achieve sympatry by using different habitats.

Sarus Cranes in Queensland largely live in Eucalyptus-dominated riverine, while most Brolgas use non-wooded regional ecosystems that include vast grassland habitats.

In contrast in the non-breeding season, they tend to be gregarious, forming large flocks to roost, socialize, and in some species feed.

When feeding on land, they consume seeds, leaves, nuts and acorns, berries, fruit, insects, worms, snails, small reptiles, mammals, and birds.

In wetlands and agriculture fields, roots, rhizomes, tubers, and other parts of emergent plants, other molluscs, small fish, eggs of birds and amphibians are also consumed, as well.

In contrast both to this and the stationary wait and watch hunting methods employed by many herons, they forage for insects and animal prey by slowly moving forwards with their heads lowered and probing with their bills.

[21] Similar results had been found by acoustic monitoring (sonography/frequency analysis of duet and guard calls) in three breeding areas of common cranes in Germany over 10 years.

[2] Artificial sources of water such as irrigation canals and irregular rainfall can sometimes provide adequate moisture to maintain wetland habitat outside the normal wet season, and allows for occasional aseasonal nesting throughout the year in few tropical species.

[citation needed] Even in areas with a high density of humans, in the absence of directed persecution, species like Sarus Crane maintain territories as small as 5 ha when agricultural crops and landscape conditions are suitable.

[citation needed] Territory defence is either acoustic with both birds performing the unison call, or more rarely, physical with attacks usually by the male.

[17] The cranes' beauty and spectacular mating dances have made them highly symbolic birds in many cultures with records dating back to ancient times.

Crane mythology can be found in cultures around the world, from India to the Aegean, Arabia, China, Korea, Japan, Australia, and North America.

The Sanskrit epic poet Valmiki was inspired to write the first śloka couplet by the pathos of seeing a male sarus crane shot while dancing with its mate.

[27] Pliny the Elder[citation needed] wrote that cranes would appoint one of their number to stand guard while they slept.

Notably, however, the crest of Clan Cranstoun depicts a sleeping crane still in vigilance and holding the rock in its raised claw.

[28] Aristotle describes the migration of cranes in the History of Animals,[29] adding an account of their fights with Pygmies as they wintered near the source of the Nile.

Battles between cranes and dwarf peoples, or geranomachy, is a widespread motif of antiquity and come from China and Arabia at least from the fifth century.

[30][31] Aristotle describes as untruthful an account that the crane carries a touchstone inside it that can be used to test for gold when vomited up.

[citation needed] In pre-modern Ottoman Empire, sultans would sometimes present a piece of crane feather (Turkish: turna teli) to soldiers of any group in the army (janissaries, sipahis, etc.)

[citation needed] In Japan, the crane is one of the mystical or holy creatures (others include the dragon and the tortoise) and symbolizes good fortune and longevity because of its fabled life span of a thousand years.

[citation needed] In northern Hokkaidō, the women of the Ainu people performed a crane dance that was captured in 1908 in a photograph by Arnold Genthe.

Suffering from leukemia as a result of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and knowing she was dying, she undertook to make a thousand origami cranes before her death at the age of 12.