Common crane

　Among the flocks of cranes in the Izumi Plain, the common crane is the hardest to spot. Though several migrate here each year, finding them among over ten thousand cranes proves quite a challenge.

　Their global population is estimated at 500,000 birds. In France, it is said that royalty and nobility once savoured them as a delicacy. In Japan, the more common hooded crane was particularly favoured by the upper classes when salted, suggesting cranes were a globally cherished delicacy symbolising longevity.