• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
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• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Formerly considered conspecific with B. pavonina (lumped species sometimes erroneously listed as B. regulorum), but differences revealed by electrophoresis, together with those in vocalizations, bare parts and plumage, as well as in genetic evidence (Krajewski and King 1996, Krajewski et al. 2010), advocate recognition of two species. Two subspecies recognized.

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	A2bcd+4bcd	A2bcd+4bcd

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Endangered	A2bcd+4bcd
2016	Endangered	A2acd+4acd
2013	Endangered	A2acd+4acd
2012	Endangered	A2acd+4acd
2009	Vulnerable	A2c,d; A4c,d
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	6,070,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	20100-24600 mature individuals	medium	estimated	2024
Population trend	decreasing	medium	estimated	1983-2025
Rate of change over the past 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	55-65%	-	-	-
Rate of change over the past & future 10 years/3 generations (longer of the two periods)	55-60%	-	-	-
Generation length	14.1 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	2	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	1-89%	-	-	-

Population justification: The current population size was estimated at 26,500-33,500 individuals in 2014 (Morrison 2015). However, more recent population sizes censuses show a population size of 900 individuals in Rwanda in 2023 (with an additional 166 individuals having been released) (Nsengimana et al. 2023) compared to 50-500 in 2014 (Morrison 2015), 8,500-10,000 individuals recorded in 2023 in Kenya (Wamiti et al. 2023) compared to 10,000-12,500 individuals in 2014 (Morrison 2015), and 10,500-13,000 in Uganda (Engoru et al. in prep.) compared to 6,500–8,000 (Morrison 2015). In Tanzania, the Bird Atlas project estimate 1000-1600 individuals (Baker 2019, L. Jordan in litt 2024) from 600-1000 in 2014 (Morrison 2015), which is likely due in part to increased survey effort, but also to some movement between between Rwanda and Tanzania in the Kagera Valley, and of movement of birds arriving from Kenya between Rwanda and Tanzania (Baker 2019, L. Jordan in litt 2024), which may lead to a small degree of overlap between population sizes in these countries.
The total population size is therefore estimated to be approximately 30,200-36,900 individuals and is kept in the 20,000-49,999 range. This roughly equates to 20,100-24,600 mature individuals.

The subspecies Balearica regulorum gibbericeps, present in eastern Africa, comprises approximately 75% of the species' total global population size, with Kenya, Uganda and Zambia holding the highest population sizes for this subspecies. South Africa and Zimbabwe hold the highest population sizes for the subspecies Balearica regulorum regulorum.

Trend justification: Overall estimates suggest that the species’ global population has declined from over 100,000 individuals in 1985 (Urban 1986) to 29,500-36,000 individuals in 2024 (Morrison 2015, Wamiti et al. 2020, Nsengimana et al. 2023, Engoru et al. in prep). Populations have overall declined in most countries since 1985, with the exception of populations in Rwanda, Zambia and South Africa, which have stabilised or increased over the past 40 years (Morrison 2015), due at least in part to conservation efforts including species' reintroductions to site protection (Morrison 2015). This apparent increase is treated with caution as the movement plus increased observation effort in some areas could explain the increase. The recent estimates from Tanzania do indicate a larger population size than previously estimated for the country, however, this may be due in part to some movement of individuals between Rwanda, Tanzania and possibly Kenya, as well as increased survey effort (Baker 2019, L. Jordan in litt. 2024). As such, the new data from Tanzania is not considered in the trend estimation, until further population data and analysis are available. 

When these data are extrapolated to a period of three generations (42 years) in the past using the IUCN Criterion A calculator (for the purposes of trend calculation, the 166 recently released individuals in Rwanda are not included in this exercise), the species is estimated to have declined by approximately 59% over the past three generations, and slowing to 57% between 1983 and 2025. However, despite ongoing threats, past overall declines and likely ongoing declines in many countries, the current short-term increases in population size in Rwanda, Zambia and Uganda, if sustained in the future, are high enough that it is estimated that these may dominate the overall ongoing population trend in the future, with almost half (approximately 45%) of the total global population size currently estimated to be located in these countries. On the other hand, although the population in South Africa has shown an increase over the past three generations, the overall trends in the country has been shown to be slowly declining (Jordan 2024 in prep.). 
It must also be noted that the past and ongoing declines are attributed primarily to habitat loss and fragmentation and illegal removal of birds and eggs from the wild for food, traditional use, domestication and the international illegal trade market, and that these threats have not ceased. In addition, poisoning, and electrocution from and collisions with powerlines are emerging threats which also affect the species' at both individual and population levels.

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Angola	extant	native	yes
Botswana	extant	native	yes
Burundi	extant	native	yes
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the	extant	native	yes
Eswatini	extant	vagrant
Kenya	extant	native	yes
Lesotho	extant	vagrant
Malawi	extant	native	yes
Mozambique	extant	native	yes
Namibia	extant	native	yes
Rwanda	extant	native	yes
South Africa	extant	native	yes
South Sudan	extant	native	yes
Tanzania	extant	native	yes
Uganda	extant	native	yes
Zambia	extant	native	yes
Zimbabwe	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Kenya	Kirisia Forest
Kenya	Lake Ol' Bolossat
Kenya	Nairobi National Park
South Africa	Amatola - Katberg Mountain
South Africa	Grasslands
South Africa	Karkloof
South Africa	KwaZulu-Natal Mistbelt Grasslands
Uganda	Kibimba Rice Scheme

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Irrigated Land (includes irrigation channels)	major	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land	suitable	resident
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha)	major	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Arable Land	suitable	resident
Artificial/Terrestrial	Pastureland	suitable	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Swamp	major	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded	suitable	resident
Grassland	Temperate	suitable	resident
Savanna	Dry	suitable	resident
Savanna	Moist	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Seasonal/Intermittent/Irregular Rivers/Streams/Creeks	major	resident
Altitude	0 - 3000 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Agriculture & aquaculture	Annual & perennial non-timber crops - Scale Unknown/Unrecorded	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Agriculture & aquaculture	Livestock farming & ranching - Small-holder grazing, ranching or farming	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Majority (50-90%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation
Biological resource use	Fishing & harvesting aquatic resources - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Reduced reproductive success, Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Persecution/control	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species mortality
Biological resource use	Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Unintentional effects (species is not the target)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance
Biological resource use	Logging & wood harvesting - Unintentional effects: (subsistence/small scale) [harvest]	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Energy production & mining	Mining & quarrying	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Species disturbance, Ecosystem degradation
Human intrusions & disturbance	Recreational activities	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species disturbance
Invasive and other problematic species, genes & diseases	Viral/prion-induced diseases - Avian Influenza Virus (H5N1 subtype)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Negligible declines		Low Impact: 4
		Stresses Species mortality
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Abstraction of ground water (agricultural use)	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Natural system modifications	Dams & water management/use - Small dams	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Ecosystem conversion
Natural system modifications	Fire & fire suppression - Increase in fire frequency/intensity	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Reduced reproductive success
Pollution	Agricultural & forestry effluents - Herbicides and pesticides	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Slow, Significant Declines		Low Impact: 5
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation, Species mortality
Transportation & service corridors	Utility & service lines	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Rapid Declines		Medium Impact: 6
		Stresses Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Food - human	subsistence, national
Pets/display animals, horticulture	national, international

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Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Grey Crowned Crane Balearica regulorum. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/grey-crowned-crane-balearica-regulorum on 26/12/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 26/12/2024.