Adult red-crowned cranes are named for a patch of red bare skin on the crown, which becomes brighter during the mating season.

The bill is olive green to a greenish horn, the legs are slate to grayish black, and the iris is dark brown.

[13] In the spring and summer, the migratory populations of the red-crowned crane breed in Siberia (far eastern Russia), Northeast China and occasionally in north-eastern Mongolia[1] (i.e., Mongol Daguur Strictly Protected Area).

[17] In the wintering range, their habitat consists mainly of paddy fields, grassy tidal flats, and mudflats.

They eat rice, parsley, carrots, corn, redbuds, heath berries, acorns, buckwheat, grasses and a variety of water plants such as reeds.

[19] They seem to prefer a carnivorous diet, although rice is now essential to survival for wintering birds in Japan and grass seeds are another important food source.

[20] In Hokkaido, fish such as Tribolodon, Pungitius, Sculpin and flatfish was major prey of adults, while chicks mostly feed on various insects.

[24] They typically forage by keeping their heads close to the ground, jabbing their beaks into mud when they encounter something edible.

When capturing fish or other slippery prey, they strike rapidly by extending their necks outward, a feeding style similar to that of the heron.

[4] The population of red-crowned cranes in Japan is mostly non-migratory, with the race in Hokkaidō moving only 150 km (93 mi) to its wintering grounds.

Flock sizes are affected by the small numbers of the red-crowned crane, and given their largely carnivorous diet, some feeding dispersal is needed in natural conditions.

[7] Young cranes maintain a higher-pitched voice that may serve to distinguish them from outwardly similar mature birds, this stage lasting until the leave parental care.

However, birds more likely to be egg or nest predators, such as corvids, some buzzards, and various eagles, are treated aggressively and are threatened until they leave the crane's territory.

Mammalian carnivores, including small Siberian weasels (Mustela sibirica) to large red foxes (Vulpes vulpes), Asian badgers (Meles leucurus), common raccoon dogs (Nyctereutes viverrinus), and domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) which pose a threat to eggs and chicks, are attacked immediately, with the parent cranes attempting to jab them in the flanks until the predators leave the vicinity.

Larger predators such as gray wolves (Canis lupus) and large dogs can be repelled by aggressive crane pairs.

[41] As reported researchers trying to band or examine the cranes or their nest, this powerful species is considered mildly hazardous and prone to respond quickly with considerable aggression to being approached or handled by humans and are able to inflict painful injuries using both its kicking feet and dagger-like beak.

[1][42][43] In 2020, winter counts recorded more than 3,800 red-crowned cranes (adults and immatures), including about 1,900 in Japan, more than 1,600 in Korea and about 350 in China.

[1] The main threats are habitat loss and fragmentation, but to a lesser extent also human disturbances near their nesting grounds, poisoning and poaching.

[17][44][45] The National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ran a program where U.S. zoos donated eggs which were flown to Russia and raised in the Khinganski Nature Reserve and released into the wild.

[46] Assuredly, the international efforts of Russia, China, Japan, and Korea are needed to keep the species from extinction.

The Ming and Qing dynasties endowed the red crowned crane with the cultural connotation of loyalty, uprightness and noble morality.

The image of red crowned crane generally appears in Chinese cultural relics and works of art.Because of its importance in Chinese culture, the red-crowned crane was selected by the National Forestry Bureau of the People's Republic of China as a candidate for the title of national animal of China.

[49] Robert Kuok's Kerry/Kuok Group also uses the red-crowned crane as its logo for operations in Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China, and overseas.

Given its reputation, Jerry Huff, an American branding expert, recommended it as the international logo of Japan Airlines, after seeing a representation of it in a gallery of samurai crests.

I found that the crane myth was all positive—it mates for life (loyalty), and flies high for miles without tiring (strength).

In Korea, the red-crowned crane is called durumi or hak and it is considered a symbol of longevity, purity, and peace.