Birdblog #3: Grey crowned crane

Grey crowned crane - featuring reverse knees.

This young punk is the national bird of Uganda, though it appears more often on coins and flags (and as the door handles of the Ugandan Embassy in Trafalgar Square) than in real life.

There is a family of three that we've spotted over the hill from our flat, but when I went for a run yesterday one of them was lying dead in a farmer's field whilst the other two conducted a rudimentary post-mortem.

Grey crowned crane door handles - just visible behind ardent fans of The Seahorses

No-one seems sure why it was chosen as the national bird, but it definitely is one of the more spectacular species, particularly with its red wattle that has evolved to resemble a mad, screaming, bloodied mouth.

When a few of them get together they sound a bit like the Scousers from the Fast Show - the third sample down via this link gives the best example.

If the Grey crowned crane were a celebrity it would be: Johnny Rotten