Habitat preference and conservation threats to sarus crane, Antigone antigone (linnaeus, 1758) in Gurugram, Haryana, 1758) in Gurugram, Haryana

The Indian Sarus Crane, Antigone antigone is the tallestflying bird. Out of the 15 known species of cranes, this is the only breeding crane found in India. This study was undertaken to collect information about the habitat preference and conservation threats affecting the population of Sarus Crane in Basai wetland from November 2018 to October 2020. During our study, 79.65% of sightings of Sarus Cranes were made in the agricultural land, while the rest of them were in the marshy area and grassland of the site of study. Significant hazards to Sarus Crane include road construction, water hyacinth expansion, cattle grazing, and several predators in the Basai wetland. For these birds, the Basai wetland is the only suitable site in Gurugram because it is surrounded by paddy fields and not yet exposed to the pressure of urbanization. It is, therefore, necessary to protect such wetland habitats, to provide a healthy ecosystem for Sarus cranes and other living organisms.