Windhoek - The Namibia Crane Working Group (NCWG) has made an interesting discovery about the diet of blue cranes and how they survive when the conditions are dry.

In December, a group of 12 cranes were spotted at Andoni in Etosha National Park, feeding practically non-stop on the roots of the Spor­o­bollus spicatus grass, which the birds were previously observed feeding on in August last year, Ann Scott, Mike Scott and Wilfred Versfeld of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism write in the February issue of the NCWG newsletter.
 
They say the cranes were seen in a heavily grazed area around a waterhole. "Here, we made another interesting discovery. The cranes were digging up and feeding on bud-like structures, resembling corms or bulbs, that occurred among the roots," says the newsletter. These juicy-looking structures were first noticed at Lake Oponona. Ben Strohblach of the National Botanical Research Institute in Windhoek says sedges often form corms, such as the common 'uintjie' (Cyperus fulgens). This source of food could help explain how the cranes manage to survive under these extremely dry conditions, when no other food appears to be available, and why they favour these heavily grazed areas near waterholes.

Blue cranes are classified as critically endangered birds in Namibia. In 1989, 80 individuals were countered but only 60 were spotted in 1996. Recent counts of blue cranes in Namibia have showed a declining trend. As a result the Namibia Nature Foundation (NNF) initiated the NCWG, a crane research and conservation project, during 2006.


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