Red-crowned crane Coloring Pages

The Biggest Bird in Japan

The Red-crowned crane is a type of crane that lives in eastern Hokkaido.
When it stands up, it is about 1.4 meters tall. With its wings spread wide, it is over 2 meters across! It is the biggest bird in Japan.
It has a white body, a black neck and back part of its wings, and a bright red top of its head.
In Japanese, the name "Tancho" means "red top of the head."

The Secret of the Red Head

The red part on the head of the Red-crowned crane is actually bare skin, not feathers!
It looks red because lots of blood flows right under the skin.
People say the red spot gets bigger when the bird gets excited or wants to show off to its friends.

Courtship Dance in the Snow

In winter, two Red-crowned cranes stand face-to-face on the snowy fields and dance together.
They spread their wings wide, hop high in the air, stretch their necks, and call to each other.
This is a courtship dance to show their love.
Once a male and female Red-crowned crane become a pair, they stay together forever!

Three Coloring Pages

The first coloring page shows one Red-crowned crane standing on the snow with its wings opened a little bit. There is no background, so you can focus on coloring its feathers.
The second coloring page shows a Red-crowned crane flying through the sky from the side, with its neck and legs stretched out straight.
The third coloring page shows two Red-crowned cranes doing their courtship dance on the snowy field with their wings wide open.
All of these pictures were drawn using real photos!

Moving Near People in Winter

Red-crowned cranes raise their babies in wetlands from spring to autumn. When winter comes, they gather in places where they can find food or near rivers that do not freeze over.
In winter, in places like Kushiro and Tsurui Village in Hokkaido, you can see dozens of Red-crowned cranes gathering and dancing on the snow.
In the morning, seeing them stand and rest in the foggy, unfrozen rivers is super beautiful!
If you like white winter birds, we also have a Swan coloring page!

Raising Babies

When spring arrives, Red-crowned cranes build a nest among the reeds in the wetlands and lay two eggs.
The chicks have brown feathers and grow up big and strong while walking around with their parents.

3 Main Colors: White, Black, and Red

The Red-crowned crane's body is mostly white. Leave the white parts uncolored!
Using the white color of the paper is the best secret to making your Red-crowned crane look great.
Color the neck and the back of the wings black or dark gray. Color the small circle on top of its head red, and anyone can tell it is a Red-crowned crane right away!
Make the legs dark gray, and make the beak light yellow-green or light gray.

Tips to Make White Feathers Look White

Add just a tiny bit of light blue or light gray where the white feathers overlap and on the lower body. This makes the fluffy feathers look 3D!
The secret is leaving the tips of the feathers white.

The Sky and Snowy Fields

If you color the sky in the second picture light blue, the white body will really pop out!
In the third picture, leave the snowy field white, and add a little light blue to the bumps in the snow.
If you make the reeds on the left light brown or ocher, it will look just like winter in Hokkaido.

Lucky Japanese Colors

The crane is a lucky bird that often appears in New Year pictures.
If you add a gold circle or a red sunrise in the background, you will have a lucky picture you can use for a New Year's card!

Legs and Feet

In the first picture, leave the snow under its feet white and add light blue only around the feet. It will look just like it is standing on top of the snow!
If you make the joints on the long legs a little darker, they will look very real.

They almost disappeared once

In the past, people caught Red-crowned cranes and their wetland homes shrank, so there was a time when people thought they went extinct.
In 1924, a little over ten of them were found in Hokkaido's Kushiro Marsh, and they have been carefully protected ever since.
Thanks to efforts like people feeding them in the winter, their numbers have now grown to over 1,800!

"Cranes live for a thousand years"

An old Japanese saying goes, "Cranes live for a thousand years, turtles for ten thousand," making cranes a symbol of long life.
They do not really live for a thousand years, but they are long-lived birds that can live for 20 to 30 years in the wild.
Red-crowned cranes were even printed on the back of the 1,000-yen bill before!

The bird of Hokkaido

The Red-crowned crane is chosen as the bird of Hokkaido.
It is also a national Special Natural Monument, and everyone works together to protect it carefully.

Loud voices

The call of a Red-crowned crane is super loud, and you can hear it miles away!
Inside their long neck, they have a long windpipe that curves around, making their voice echo like a trumpet.
Red-crowned cranes are also known for "duet calling," where a mated pair calls together in harmony.