India, Feb. 21 -- In the stark, wind-swept landscapes of the Tibetan and Trans-Himalayan plateau, a haunting, resonant call rises over the marshes each summer. It belongs to the black-necked crane, one of the region's most iconic birds. Standing nearly 1.4 metres tall, the crane cuts a striking figure: a largely whitish-grey body contrasted by a jet-black head and upper neck, splashes of red around the eye, and long, elegant legs built for wading through alpine bogs. Juveniles, cloaked in darker grey with a rusty tinge, shadow their parents as the family moves through meadows blooming with sedges and wildflowers.

Globally, only 13,000 to 15,000 black-necked cranes survive, most on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau. The International Union for ...