Photo 1. Meetings with these large and cautious birds became frequent for me as soon as I began to visit places more distant from Moscow. Flocks often fly high and often call to each other in a flock. It is impossible not to notice and hear large and loud-voiced birds. In the spring, I have never been able to devote enough time to them to find a nesting pair, find a nest, or photograph adults next to the chicks. When filming the currents of chicken birds, I had to choose to study them or the cranes. But in the second half of summer, when there is a lull in filming for photographers, gray cranes attract attention. By this time, crane families leave their nesting stations. They are easier to watch.

Photo 2. Chicks manage to reach adult size only two months after hatching. By the end of July, young cranes, those that hatched in the middle zone, are already flying. In early and mid-August, families can be seen in the fields. Two, or at least one of the adults, carefully looks in the direction of a person or car, and young birds swarm carelessly, bowing their heads to the ground. The latter are easily distinguished by the uniform gray color of their plumage with a reddish head, while the underside of the head and throat of adults are black.

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Up close, the parents can be seen to have red, bare skin on the crown of their head. Very noticeable in adults are white stripes on the sides of the neck, which start from the eyes and go down the neck, ending with a black throat above the goiter. The chicks, despite the fact that they have caught up with the adults in size, still squeak like children. Therefore, often when birds fly in the air above an observer, their thin squeak is clearly audible. The joint flight of the family is also touching, when the parents fly on both sides of the young birds, as if protecting them from being shot.


Photo 5.

In the second half of summer, after the chicks of the gray cranes begin to fly, the crane families leave the swamps and damp swamps of the black alder forests. Birds appear in hayfields after the grass has been mowed, and then in grain fields when the crops are harvested. At first, families stay apart, adults teach the young the various intricacies of crane life, and it takes time for the chicks to gain strength and get stronger before the long journey to warm countries. But from September, cranes begin to gather in some fields in larger and larger groups, and in October, after practicing flying and uniting in large flocks, they leave us.


Photo 6.

The weather has almost no effect on the daily routine of the cranes; be it sun or rain, they will fly to the field to feed. At the beginning of September, cranes collect the remains of the crop that they dropped during harvesting and peck small animals. After the stubble is plowed and winter crops are sown, they collect the grains lying on the surface, fortunately there are so many of them that there is no need to look for them. A little later, the winter crops germinate and the entire field becomes soft green with young shoots.
Cranes do not immediately arrive in a large flock. As soon as it becomes visible so clearly that one can confidently distinguish blades of grass from a bird's eye view, the first cranes appear over the field. It could be one or two birds or a family of three or four birds. They fly silently, without the usual purring. Their task is to find out if there is any danger on the field. The cranes make a circle over the field and sit down away from bushes, trees and weeds. A few minutes later the first flock of their relatives flies after the scouts. They sit down not far from the first ones.

Photo 7.

The first cranes looked around warily and listened, but the more birds there were, the more freely they behaved. Then flock after flock arrives and within an hour all the other cranes gather on the field. True, this does not mean that gray cranes no longer fly over the field throughout the day. On the contrary, it is quite normal that some birds fly in and out of here. Birds call in common with those who are in another field, fly to feed or to drink.


Photo 8.

Cranes fly in small groups or families. In autumn, a family is a strong and indivisible group of 3-5 birds, two of which are adults, and 1-3 chicks of this year. Chicks are easily distinguished from their parents. They do not have the plumage of adults. It is very interesting to observe how adults take care of their grown children, even in the fall, when each bird is looking for its own food in the field, one of the parents, having found something “tasty”, can feed it to one of the chicks.


Photo 9.

The chicks emit a thin squeak, which in no way matches the important appearance of the tall, long-legged bird. This voice always seems to haunt parents. Even in flight, young cranes scream tirelessly. And they rarely stray far from their parents.


Photo 10.

In addition to families, a flock of cranes may contain groups consisting only of adult cranes. These are unsuccessfully nested pairs or one-year-old birds that are not yet ready to breed. Such companies are interesting to the photographer because the behavior of birds not related to a family is more free and unpredictable.


Photo 11.

Either several birds suddenly begin to scream loudly and “trumpetically”, stretching out their necks and raising their beaks up, then a quarrel breaks out between two cranes, developing into an aerial duel with low jumps and attacks with legs and beaks. This spectacular spectacle rarely occurs near the tent, and it is not always possible to film it, but the resulting footage is all the more valuable.
The “discovery” that on a hot, sunny day, cranes definitely need a watering hole seemed very unusual to me. The birds are unpretentious and can be content with a puddle at the edge of a field, but if there are no puddles, then the cranes will find a river or ditch. When the sun gets hot, cranes in families and small groups will flock to the water. It is enough to show one bird a watering place, and others will flock here from different ends of the field.

Photo 12.

Overcoming long distances, the flock most often flies in a regular wedge. It has been experimentally proven that with such a formation, the first bird is in the most difficult position, and the rest have a much easier time flying. In open spaces, they can be seen and heard from afar.


Photo 13.

During the wintering grounds, young birds molt, but still stay close to their parents and, according to ornithologists, they fly together to our north in the spring. Only adults fly to the nesting site, and the young flock together and feed all summer in the meadows, where it is easy to feed. They reach sexual maturity after 3 years. It is believed that cranes form a pair for life, but if one of the partners dies, the remaining one finds a replacement.


Photo 14.

Gray cranes have a very difficult relationship with humans. Let me start with the fact that nesting birds do not tolerate the presence of people on the nesting site and quickly leave such areas. Until now, they are hunted only in Pakistan and Afghanistan (the West Siberian population flies there for the winter). I was greatly impressed by the report of the German nature photographer Klaus Nigge, who conducted a master class on December 18 as part of the “Nature Photography Day”. It was a bit of a shock to see how the gray crane behaves in Europe where it is not persecuted. This gullibility of nesting pairs of cranes, which have now densely populated all suitable biotopes for this species, when, for example, they nest completely openly on a small reservoir, in the middle of a cultivated field. Photographing gray cranes in Western Europe and Russia cannot be compared. They don’t even think about shooting such wonderful birds, but in special protected areas they are fed and, perhaps, photographed. There is another known wintering ground for these birds in Israel. There they treat this bird no less civilized and the cranes feel comfortable.


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We currently have timid birds, but this caution was acquired through many years of negative experience. Despite the ban on hunting, people shoot at them (I heard it myself), either for fun or to test weapons. It’s a shame that for the sake of the pleasure of a few stupid gun-wielding people, the majority of our fellow citizens cannot even get a good look at this bird. Unless you look at other people's photographs. Admire these majestic birds, see how gracefully they preen their huge feathers, how sedately they stride across the field, taking large steps, how they leisurely collect grains on the ground and how beautiful the flock of cranes is in the sky. How great this magnificent spectacle would look in relation to every corner of our country.


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As an image and theme, the crane is found in all types of traditional Japanese arts, especially painting. The crane is the bird of immortality; it symbolizes longevity, happiness and prosperity. His image on screens or scrolls was of a benevolent nature and represented a huge variety of varieties, each of which conveyed the subtlest shades of meaning.

This is an engraving by Kitao Shigemasa - surimono - greeting card, they were made for holidays, significant dates, holidays. This surimono is presumably dedicated to some family date. The image of a pair of cranes means a long, happy family union and prosperity. The crane has a reputation as a leader among birds and has life wisdom. Therefore, a husband and wife, like two cranes, together are able to solve any problem and remove any obstacle that arises on the family path of life.

Shunsho Katsukawa 1726-1792 - Cranes, turtles and pine trees. The image of cranes against a background of pine trees symbolizes power and perseverance, because pine is a symbol of inner strength, perseverance and steadfastness.

The same plot performed by Hokusai.

Ichiryusai HIROSHIGE (1797-1858) - Cranes and pine trees.

Two scrolls from the triptych “A Thousand Cranes” - “Cranes among Pines”, “Cranes among Bamboo”, and unfortunately I do not have an image of the third scroll “Cranes among Plums”. The combination of these three plants was not chosen by chance. Pine, bamboo and plum, which blooms at the end of winter and is considered a symbol of purity, have been part of a benevolent system since ancient times, even among the Chinese, symbolizing longevity, perseverance, and fortitude. These plants are called "three friends of cold winter."
Bamboo symbolizes endurance and protection - it can withstand both hot summers and cold winters. The image of cranes among bamboo means good luck associated with a long and happy life.
The plum blossoms earlier than other plants, it blooms in late winter or early spring, therefore it symbolizes strength, perseverance, hermitage and purity. It was customary to decorate women's hairstyles with branches of blossoming plums, so this plant also symbolized beauty.
When these three trees are depicted together, they symbolize friendship that can withstand any adversity.

Yoshitoshi Taiso portrayed Minamoto no Yorimoto, the founder of the Kamakura shogunate and its first ruler, releasing a thousand cranes into the sky.

Triptych by Utamoro Kitagawa - Crane Release Ceremony. For an adequate impression, of course, these fragments are better
place nearby.

The theme is continued by Utagawa Kuniyoshi.

Hiroshige II Utagawa 1829-1869. Flying cranes.

Sketches of cranes by Hokusai.

Well, it’s not just cranes here, of course)

More Hokusai - Cranes with Mount Fuji in the background.

A couple of works by Hiroshige

The crane is a bird from the order Crane-like family of the Crane family. This is a bird of aquatic and semi-aquatic spaces. She settles near bodies of water. The crane has long legs and neck. When it flies, it always extends its legs and neck in length. The head is usually small. It can walk on water in shallow waters thanks to its long and thin legs. It feeds on aquatic insects, which it catches from the water column or takes out by digging it out of the watery muddy soil. It can also eat seeds, shoots and roots of plants. During the breeding season, like many birds, it forms pairs. Builds a nest at the edge of a reservoir, usually hiding it in dense vegetation. There are 2-5 chicks. Cranes are heroes of many Russian folk tales. They are often represented in them as very intelligent creatures. Let's draw a crane step by step with a pencil here in the lesson.

Stage 1. Draw helper lines. A small round head, from which in front we immediately draw two straight lines, converging at the end and separated in the middle of the straight line. This is a beak. From the head we outline a smooth S-curved line for the long neck. It connects to the oval body. From below we draw the legs bent at the joint.

Stage 2. Draw the contours of the head, turning into the neck. On the head we denote an eye with a pupil.

Stage 4. On the side of the body we draw the upper feathers of the wing folded at rest. After that, under the first feathers we show the lower feathers.

Stage 5. Under the belly of the crane, along the sketch lines, we mark the legs of the crane. They are quite thin, thickened only at the top and at the joint.

Stage 6. Below we will draw his foot with big toes, three of which are directed forward, and one is turned back. We will show sharp curved claws on our fingers.

Stage 7. Now let’s create a beautiful fluffy tail of the bird. At the back of the body we make feathers, first the top layer, then the bottom layer of feathers.

Stage 8. We detail the feathers, showing the trunk and grooves of the first order (see our lesson on drawing a feather).

Stage 9. This is what an unpainted crane looks like.

There are many beautiful legends and stories associated with cranes. In Japan, the crane is a symbol of happiness and longevity; the ancient Chinese believed that these birds were messengers of God; in Rus', seeing a crane was considered extraordinary luck and a sign of a rich harvest. In many beliefs, a pair of cranes still represents fidelity, love and happiness. They were embroidered on towels for the wedding day, painted, made into figures and given to loved ones. The Japanese say that if you make a thousand paper cranes, your biggest and most cherished dream will come true. How to draw a crane? There are many varieties of these amazing birds, the most unusual species is the one with a red “cap” on its head. Let's try to draw a crane step by step.

1. Let's show a crane in flight; it is especially beautiful in motion. We draw a flying bird in watercolor, which means we need thick special paper, a pencil for a preliminary sketch and an eraser. You will also need a soft cloth that absorbs water well to remove excess water from the brush. Let's depict the body of the bird as an elongated oval, like a grain. The right wing will visually look larger, because the left one is at an angle to the viewer and appears shorter. Let's draw a curved, graceful neck; it will be approximately equal in size to half of the body. We finish drawing two graceful paws folded in flight.

   

   
   
2. We draw magnificent huge wings and a head. Notice how flat the left wing seems and where it is “attached” to the body - above the middle, closer to the back, at the same angle.

   

   
   
3. Carefully remove the auxiliary lines with an eraser and draw feathers. They will be large and hard around the edges. They seem to fold like a fan and at the highest point of the wing there are the widest and largest feathers, this allows the bird to easily soar in the air. Look at how they are located - the top feather is at an angle of almost 90 degrees, and the lower feathers are turned in the opposite direction and gradually become smaller in size. We mark the border of the bird's colors on the neck and head.

   

   
   
4. Let's start painting with watercolors. Take plenty of water and different shades of blue. You can add a little purple and pink. Be careful with warm colors - yellow, ocher, brown - otherwise it may turn out dirty. Put a little paint on the brush, paint in light and transparent layers, add water, but in moderation. The paper will absorb it, mixing all kinds of shades, and you will get wonderful picturesque stains. Where we want to make an accent (and this will be the crane’s head), we add rich paint, highlighting this fragment. Be sure to wait until this layer is completely dry before moving on to the next step.

   

   
   
5. Using a thin brush we paint the neck of the bird, and with a wide brush we add a transparent gray-blue tint to the body of the crane. We will leave the edges of the wings and the back pure white, and do not paint over the paper in these areas at all. Using the same gray-blue paint we will make a shadow on the bird’s abdomen. This layer should also dry well.

   

   
   
6. We add details to the final drawing with a thin brush. In the picture the neck and feathers look black, but in reality the color used is dark gray with a deep blue added. Remember that pure black does not exist in nature; it is obtained by mixing different colors and can have cold and warm shades. Therefore, if you are painting a landscape or an animal, then do not use only black paint, it will not look entirely natural and rough. We draw the bird’s paws, a dark red beak and a bright “cap”. Using a cool shade of gray, in short strokes, draw the feathers on the wings, under the black row. Now move a little away from the drawing and see how it is perceived, is the picture complete? To further highlight the beautiful snow-white wings, you can add a deep blue tint to the area of ​​the sky near the crane's neck.

   

   
   

In this lesson we will look at how to draw a crane with a pencil step by step. The gray crane is a bird that lives in Europe and Asia, it is large, its height is about 115 cm, and its wingspan is about 190 cm. Cranes are monogamous, they find a mate for life. But if something happens to a partner, for example, they die, they can find someone else. Cranes feed on both plant foods and caterpillars, beetles, pockmarked fish, etc. To take off, they run across the water in the wind and flap their wings, their necks are elongated in the field, like storks. So that they are not visible when incubating the nest, they cover their feathers with dirt and silt. They settle above or near water.

Draw the shape of the head, which is shown in the picture, then draw the beak and eye. The head should be small, I just showed it here in an enlarged version.

Then we draw the neck and sketch out the shape of the body.

We sketch the legs, they are quite long on the crane, now we draw the shape of the body using a smooth curve, draw the leg and the main lines of the feather on the tail.

We draw the second leg, feathers, then add more feathers on the tail. We draw the line between the different colors of feathers on the head and neck of the crane.

We paint over the dark areas, imitate feathers, and for a more realistic image, apply shadows to the body and tail. The crane drawing is ready.