Passing migrant, less so in spring (mid-March – early April) and more frequent in autumn (end of August – early September). Mostly in groups of variable size, occasionally in quite large ones (rarely up to few hundred).

It’s often heard at night with the migrating flocks giving their characteristic crane calls, even over towns and villages. One subpopulation overwinters in a relatively small part of sub-Saharan Africa (Chad, Soudan, Ethiopia) and another in the Indian peninsula. It breeds from eastern Europe (eastern Ukraine) westwards to Mongolia and China, in a line along central Asia. One small subpopulation breeds in eastern Turkey.

Cyprus (and the Akamas peninsula in particular) is along the western migrating route of the species to Europe and throughout their worldwide range. It’s a large bird with very long legs and neck. It has a grey body and black neck that extends low down to the chest, white feathers hang out from the head backwards and dark red eyes.