With the alias of pan crane or dark crane, the bird belongs to the Gruidae family of Gruiformes order. Its scientific name is Grus monacha (Latin), or Hooded Crane (English).    

It is a large-size wading bird, with a body-length of about 100 centimeters. Its body feathers are mainly slate gray studded with brown color. There are dense black setae on the lore, forehead and sinciput. The bare part of the vertex skin is vermeil, and the rest and two-thirds of the neck are white. The remiges are gray black. The sublevel and tertial ones are prolonged and bent into bow form, with black rectrices. The beak is Kelly, and the feet are gray black.

Hooded Crane inhabits in estuary, lake and cienaga, feeding on fish, crustacean, myriapod, mollusks and insects, as well as wheat, sedge, etc. Usually it begins to breed in April. The nests are built in cienaga. It spawns two eggs per brood, and the incubation period lasts about 30 days. After 80 days young cranes will acquire flying ability.

Hooded Crane breeds in Inner Mongolia and Ussuri valley, and hibernates in lower reaches of the Yangtze River. The bird has been listed in Appendix I of International Trade Convention on Endangered Wild Animal and Plant Species.