Hokkaido: Single White-Naped Crane in Flock of Red-Crowned Crane Gains Popularity

The Yomiuri Shimbun

10:13 JST, January 29, 2024

A single white-naped crane blended in with a group of red-crowned cranes, a national special natural monument, in Tsurui, Hokkaido, and its “single gray in a flock of white” appearance has become a topic of conversation.

The white-naped crane flew to the Tsurui Ito Tancho (red-crowned crane) Sanctuary, a red-crowned crane feeding ground, in mid-December, and has been pecking at food. White-naped cranes normally overwinter in western Japan, including Izumi, Kagoshima Prefecture, and on the Korean Peninsula, but it is believed that the crane in Tsurui has become separated from their flock.