Anthropoides paradiseus
Silhouette: Mathieu Pélissié · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~10% in a week ~20%
The blue crane (Grus paradisea), also known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN. The blue crane is a tall, ground-dwelling bird, but is fairly small by the standards of the crane family. It is 100–120 cm (3 ft 3 in – 3 ft 11 in) tall, with a wingspan of 180–200 cm (5 ft 11 in – 6 ft 7 in) and weighs 3.6–6.2 kg (7.9–13.7 lb). Among standard measurements, the wing chord measures 51.4–59 cm (20.2–23.2 in), the exposed culmen measures 8–10 cm (3.1–3.9 in) and the tarsus measures 20.5–25.2 cm (8.1–9.9 in). This crane is pale blue-gray in color becoming darker on the upper head, neck and nape. From the crown to the lores, the plumage is distinctly lighter, sometimes whitish. The bill is ochre to greyish, with a pink tinge. The long wingtip feathers which trail to the ground. The primaries are black to slate grey, with dark coverts and blackish on the secondaries. Unlike most cranes, it has a relatively large head and a proportionately thin neck. Juveniles are similar but slightly lighter, with tawny coloration on the head, and no long wing plumes.
Blue cranes are... Wikipedia →
Recording0:09
South Africa · 2024
© kateannie · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:09
South Africa · 2020
© Petro · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
Recording0:11
South Africa · 2025
© Jeffrey H. Skevington · iNaturalist · CC BY-NC 4.0
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | De Hoop Nature Reserve | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 2 | Etosha National Park | 🇳🇦 Namibia | |
| 3 | Pilanesberg National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 4 | Addo Elephant National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 5 | West Coast National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa | |
| 6 | Garden Route National Park | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pretoria | 🇿🇦 South Africa |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Crane sighting in West Coast National Park on a given day, based on 50 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 137th most-seen of the 192 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 10%, and over a week to about 20%, if each day is a fresh chance.
February, August and October–December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Blue Crane in West Coast National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January, March–July and September, the lowest months.
Between 10 am and 1 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Blue Crane sightings with a recorded time, and nearly all of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
5th of 6
Of the 6 parks where we can rate Blue Crane sightings, West Coast National Park ranks 5th at under 5%. The best odds are in De Hoop Nature Reserve (South Africa, about 50%), Etosha National Park (Namibia, about 10%) and Pilanesberg National Park (South Africa, about 10%).
Same order: Gruiformes
The closest relatives of the Blue Crane that you can see in West Coast National Park (order Gruiformes, Cranes, Rails, and Allies) are Red-knobbed Coot (about 50%), African Rail (about 20%) and Common Moorhen (about 20%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Blue Crane is recorded against all the birds logged in West Coast National Park (50 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
