Crowned crane

The bird genus Balearica consists of two species in the crane family Gruidae: the Black Crowned Crane (B. pavonina) and the Grey Crowned Crane (B. regulorum).

Fossil record
Crowned cranes seem to have been more widespread prehistorically. Compared to the true cranes, genus Grus, which were always common in the Holarctic and adjacent regions, the present genus appears to have had a more Atlantic distribution, ranging into Europe and North America; it is not known from the fossil record of Asia.
 * Balearica rummeli (Early Miocene of Germany) – formerly Basityto
 * Balearica excelsa (Early–Middle Miocene of France) – formerly Grus and Ornithocnemus
 * Balearica exigua (Miocene of Nebraska)