Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • noun A constellation in the Southern Hemisphere near Indus and Phoenix.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The typical genus of Gruidæ, containing most of the species of cranes, of maximum size, white or gray in color, with crestless and partly denuded head, 12-feathered tail, flowing inner secondaries, and enlarged inner claw.
  • noun In astronomy, a southern constellation, between Aquarius and Pisces Australis.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • proper noun (Astron.) A constellation in the southern celestial hemisphere between Indus and Piscis Austrinus.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • proper noun A taxonomic genus within the family Gruidae — the cranes.
  • proper noun astronomy A spring constellation of the southern sky, said to resemble a crane. It contains the star Alnair and lies south of the constellation Piscis Austrinis.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun type genus of the Gruidae: typical cranes
  • noun a small constellation in the southern hemisphere near Phoenix

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[Latin grūs, crane; see gerə- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin grūs ("crane")

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

Named by Dutch explorers Pieter Dirkszoon Keyser and Frederick de Houtman between 1595 and 1597. From Latin grūs ("a crane (bird)"), originally from Proto-Indo-European *gerh₂- (“to cry hoarsely”).

Support

Help support Wordnik (and make this page ad-free) by adopting the word Grus.

Examples

  • The park was the last known wintering ground in India of the western population of Siberian crane Grus leucogeranus (V).

    Keoladeo (Bharatpur) National Park, India 2009

  • The blacknecked crane Grus nigricollis (VU) is seen on migration. 86 animals are under state protection which in addition to the above include Chinese stump-tailed macaque Macaca thibetana, takin Budorcus taxicolor, bearded vulture Gypaetus barbatus, Chinese hazel-grouse Tetrastes sewerzowi, pheasant grouse Tetraophasis obscurus, black stork Ciconia nigra, Pallas's sea-eagle Haliaeetus leucoryphus and golden eagle Aquila chrysaetos.

    The Sichuan Giant Panda Sanctuaries, China 2009

  • For example, Boyce and Miller [1] showed that water depths have a significant positive effect on the annual production of juvenile whooping cranes (Grus americana), and suggested that increased summer temperatures are likely to create drier conditions in whooping crane nesting marshes over the long term, decreasing production of young and slowing the annual population growth rate.

    Impacts on aquatic birds and mammals in the Arctic 2009

  • Sarus crane Grus antigone, with its spectacular courtship dance, is also found here.

    Keoladeo (Bharatpur) National Park, India 2009

  • The tancho is a koi (or nishikigoi, a Japanese carp) with a red patch on its head, which is named after the Red Crowned Crane (Grus japonensis), a bird which also has a red spot on its head.

    No Fat Clips!!! : OSCAR SHEIKH – Tancho 2009

  • Of special interest are the whooping crane Grus americana (EN), the nationally threatened bald eagle Haliaeetus leucocephalus, peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus, and trumpeter swan Cygnus buccinator.

    Yellowstone National Park, United States 2009

  • This valley supports large breeding populations of trumpeter swans (Cygnus bucinator) and sandhill cranes (Grus canadensis).

    Montana Valley and Foothill grasslands 2008

  • Zhalong serves as a wetland breeding area for bird species such as the rare red-crowned crane (Grus japonensis) and Chinese merganser (Mergus squamatus).

    Nenjiang River grassland 2008

  • The Endangered red-crowned, or Japanese crane (Grus japonensis) is considered a Natural National Monument.

    Hokkaido deciduous forests 2008

  • Other notable species include Japanese night heron Gorsachius goisagi, Baikal teal Anas formosa, Japanese cormorant Phalacrocorax capillatus in great numbers; Japanese crane Grus japonensis, and yellow bunting Emberiza sulphurata.

    Shiretoko, Japan 2008

Comments

Log in or sign up to get involved in the conversation. It's quick and easy.