- Lifespan
- 20–40 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 100–130 cm tall, wingspan 180–240 cm; 4–6 kg
- Habitat
- Wetlands including fens, marshes, reed beds, and shallow lakes with open water and tall vegetation for nesting.
- UK Distribution
- Rare winter visitor and passage migrant; small breeding population re-established in Norfolk and East Anglia since the 1980s after centuries of absence. Numbers increasing.
- Diet
- Omnivorous, feeding on aquatic plants, seeds, roots, insects, frogs, small fish, and small mammals.
- Prey
- Frogs, small fish, aquatic invertebrates, small mammals
- Predators
- Eggs and chicks vulnerable to foxes, corvids, and raptors; adults largely avoid predation due to size and vigilance.
- Mating Season
- March to June
- Breeding
- Clutch of 1–3 eggs (usually 2), incubation period 28–31 days, typically one brood per season. Chicks fledge at 60–65 days.
- Behaviour
- Highly social and vocal, with distinctive loud trumpeting calls. Monogamous and perform elaborate synchronized dancing displays during pair bonding. Migrate in V-formation and are very wary of disturbance.