Star for Bravery in Gold
The Star for Bravery in Gold, post-nominal letters SBG, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa in April 1996. Umkhonto we Sizwe, abbreviated as MK, Spear of the Nation in Zulu, was the wing of the African National Congress. It was established on 16 December 1961 to wage a struggle against the Nationalist government inside South Africa. On 27 April 1994, Umkhonto we Sizwe was amalgamated with six other military forces into the South African National Defence Force, the Star for Bravery in Gold, post-nominal letters SBG, was instituted by the President of South Africa in April 1996. It is the award of a set of three decorations for bravery, along with the Star for Bravery in Silver and the Conspicuous Leadership Star. The decoration could be awarded to veteran cadres of Umkhonto we Sizwe who had distinguished themselves during the struggle by performing acts of bravery in great danger. The position of the Star for Bravery in Gold in the official military, Umkhonto we Sizwe Official MK order of precedence, Succeeded by the Star for Bravery in Silver.
South African National Defence Force until 26 April 2003 Official SANDF order of precedence, Succeeded by the Star of South Africa, Gold of the Republic of South Africa. Official national order of precedence, Preceded by the Gold Star for Bravery of the Azanian Peoples Liberation Army, Succeeded by the Order of the Southern Cross, Class I, Gold of the Republic of South Africa. South African National Defence Force from 27 April 2003 Official SANDF order of precedence, Succeeded by the Nkwe ya Gauta of the Republic of South Africa. Official national order of precedence, Preceded by the Gold Star for Bravery of the Azanian Peoples Liberation Army, Succeeded by the Nkwe ya Gauta of the Republic of South Africa. Obverse The Star for Bravery in Gold is a silver-gilt five-pointed star, to fit inside a circle with a diameter of 38 millimetres, ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and red, with two 6 millimetres wide white bands in the centre, spaced 4 millimetres apart. Conferment of the Star for Bravery in Gold was discontinued upon the institution of a new set of South African honours on 27 April 2003
Military Medal
The medal was established on 25 March 1916. It was the other ranks equivalent to the Military Cross, which was awarded to commissioned officers and, rarely, to warrant officers, the MM ranked below the Distinguished Conduct Medal, which was awarded to non-commissioned members of the Army. According to Frank Richards, when the medal was first introduced, Richards writes, There were no grants or allowances with the Military Medal, which without a shadow of a doubt had been introduced to save awarding too many DCMs. With the DCM went a money-grant of twenty pounds, and a man in receipt of a life pension who had won the DCM was entitled to an extra sixpence a day on to his pension. After the new decoration was introduced, for every DCM awarded there were fifty Military Medals, the old regular soldiers thought very little of the new decoration. Recipients of the Military Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters MM, over 115,000 awards were made for actions during the First World War. Additionally, over 5,700 bars were awarded, as well as 180 second bars, during the Second World War, over 15,000 awards of the MM were made.
In 1993, the Military Medal was discontinued, since then, the Military Cross has been awarded to personnel of all ranks within the British honours system. Several Commonwealth nations, such as Australia, New Zealand and Canada, have established their own systems in the post Second World War era. The medal and ribbon had the features, A circular silver medal of 36 mm diameter. The obverse bears the effigy of the reigning monarch, the reverse has the inscription FOR BRAVERY IN THE FIELD in four lines, surrounded by a laurel wreath, surmounted by the Royal Cypher and Imperial Crown. The suspender is of a scroll type. The ribbon is blue,1.25 inches wide, with five equal centre stripes of white, white, red. Silver, laurelled bars are authorised for subsequent awards, over 135,000 people have been awarded the Military Medal. Among the more notable recipients are, Walter Bingham, Jewish refugee from Nazi Germany who served in Normandy, ian Bailey, who was awarded the medal as a Corporal in The Parachute Regiment during the Falklands War, and went on to become a Captain.
Geoffrey Bingham, Australian theologian and author, mairi Chisholm, British volunteer ambulance driver. Douglas Clark, British rugby league footballer and wrestler, william Coltman, who was awarded the Victoria Cross, and was the most highly decorated NCO of the First World War. Robert Gaspare Consiglio, Special Air Service member killed during Bravo Two Zero patrol, ernest Albert Corey, the only person to be awarded the MM four times
South African Army
The South African Army is the army of South Africa, first formed after the Union of South Africa was created in 1910. The South African military evolved within the tradition of frontier warfare fought by Boer Commando forces, the role of the Army was fundamentally changed by the upheavals of the early 1990s and after 1994 the Army became part of the new South African National Defence Force. It is now becoming involved in peacekeeping efforts in southern Africa. The Army is composed of roughly 40,100 regular uniformed personnel, the rank/age structure of the army, which deteriorated desperately during the 1990s, is greatly improving through the Military Skills Development voluntary national service system. Through this system, young members are being inducted into the regular. The 1912 law obligated all males between seventeen and sixty years of age to serve in the military, but this was not strictly enforced as there were a large number of volunteers. Instead, half of the males aged from 17 to 25 were drafted by lots into the ACF.
For training purposes, the Union was divided into 15 military districts, the Permanent Force consisted of five regiments of the South African Mounted Riflemen, each with a battery of artillery attached. Dorning says that. the SAMR was in reality a military constabulary similar to the Cape Mounted Riflemen, in 1913 and 1914, the new 23, 400-member Citizen Force was called on to suppress several industrial strikes on the Witwatersrand. In accordance with the 1912 Defence Act, the Active Citizen Force was established under Brig. Gen. C. F, the authorised strength of the ACF and Coast Garrison Force was 25,155 and by 31 December actual strength stood at 23,462. When World War I broke out in 1914, the South African government chose to join the war on the side of the Allies, the German troops stationed there eventually surrendered to the South African forces in July 1915. Later, a brigade and various other supporting units were shipped to France in order to fight on the Western Front as the South African Overseas Expeditionary Force.
The 4th Regiment was called the South African Scottish and was raised from members of the Transvaal Scottish, the supporting units included five batteries of heavy artillery, a field ambulance unit, a Royal Engineers signals company and a military hospital. South Africans saw action with the Cape Corps in Palestine, an estimated 3,000 South Africans joined the Royal Flying Corps. The total South African casualties during the war was about 18,600 with over 12,452 killed – more than 4,600 in the European theater alone, wartime casualties and postwar demobilisation weakened the UDF. New legislation in 1922 re-established conscription for males over the age of 21 for four years of military training and service. UDF troops assumed internal security tasks in South Africa and quelled several revolts against South African domination in South-West Africa, during the Rand strike of 1922,14,000 members of the ACF and certain A class reservists were called up. Expenditure cuts saw the UDF as a whole reduced, the last remaining regiment of the South Africa Mounted Riflemen was disbanded on 31 March 1926 and the number of military districts was reduced from 16 to six on 1 April 1926
Military Cross
The Military Cross is the third-level military decoration awarded to officers and other ranks of the British Armed Forces, and used to be awarded to officers of other Commonwealth countries. The MC is granted in recognition of an act or acts of gallantry during active operations against the enemy on land to all members. In 1979, the Queen approved a proposal that a number of awards, including the Military Cross, the award was created on 28 December 1914 for commissioned officers of the substantive rank of Captain or below and for Warrant Officers. In August 1916, Bars were awarded to the MC in recognition of the performance of acts of gallantry meriting the award. In 1931 the award was extended to Majors and to members of the Royal Air Force for actions on the ground, the MC now serves as the third-level award for gallantry on land for all ranks of the British Armed Forces. 46 mm max height,44 mm max width, ornamental silver cross with straight arms terminating in broad finials, suspended from plain suspension bar.
Obverse decorated with crowns, with the Royal Cypher in centre. Reverse is plain, but from 1938 the name of the recipient, the ribbon width is 32 mm and consists of three equal vertical moire stripes of white and white. During World War I, Acting Captain Francis Wallington of the Royal Field Artillery was the first person to be awarded the MC, during World War II Captain Sam Manekshaw, Indian Army, was leading a counter-offensive operation against the invading Japanese Army in Burma. During the course of the offensive, he was hit by a burst of machine-gun fire, Major General D. T. Cowan spotted Manekshaw holding on to life and was aware of his valour in face of stiff resistance from the Japanese. Fearing the worst, Major General Cowan quickly pinned his own Military Cross ribbon on to Manekshaw saying, the first posthumous Military Cross was that awarded to Captain Herbert Westmacott, Grenadier Guards for gallantry in Northern Ireland during the period 1 February 1980 to 30 April 1980. The first woman to be awarded the Military Cross was Private Michelle Norris of the Royal Army Medical Corps, Norris was awarded her medal personally by Queen Elizabeth II on 21 March 2007 as the result of her actions in Iraq on 11 June 2006.
Able Seaman Kate Nesbitt, second woman, first in the Royal Navy, sergeant Michael Lockett MC was the first holder of the MC to be killed in action since World War II. Database of Australian Awardees at the Australian Government Honours website Search recommendations for the Military Cross on The UK National Archives website, the Kings Own Royal Regiment Museum, Military Cross
Victoria Cross
The Victoria Cross is the highest award of the United Kingdom honours system. It is awarded for gallantry in the face of the enemy to members of the British armed forces and it was previously awarded to Commonwealth countries, most of which have established their own honours systems and no longer recommend British honours. It may be awarded to a person of any rank in any service. Since the first awards were presented by Queen Victoria in 1857 and these investitures are usually held at Buckingham Palace. The VC was introduced on 29 January 1856 by Queen Victoria to honour acts of valour during the Crimean War, since then, the medal has been awarded 1,358 times to 1,355 individual recipients. Only 15 medals,11 to members of the British Army, the traditional explanation of the source of the metal from which the medals are struck is that it derives from Russian cannon captured at the Siege of Sevastopol. Some research has suggested a variety of origins for the material, research has established that the metal for most of the medals made since December 1914 came from two Chinese cannons that were captured from the Russians in 1855.
Owing to its rarity, the VC is highly prized and the medal has fetched over £400,000 at auction, a number of public and private collections are devoted to the Victoria Cross. The private collection of Lord Ashcroft, amassed since 1986, contains over one-tenth of all VCs awarded, following a 2008 donation to the Imperial War Museum, the Ashcroft collection went on public display alongside the museums Victoria and George Cross collection in November 2010. These are unique awards of honours system, assessed and presented by each country. In 1854, after 39 years of peace, Britain found itself fighting a war against Russia. The Crimean War was one of the first wars with modern reporting, before the Crimean War, there was no official standardised system for recognition of gallantry within the British armed forces. This structure was limited, in practice awards of the Order of the Bath were confined to officers of field rank. Brevet promotions or Mentions in Despatches were largely confined to those who were under the notice of the commanders in the field.
Other European countries had awards that did not discriminate against class or rank, France awarded the Légion dhonneur and The Netherlands gave the Order of William. There was a feeling among the public and in the Royal Court that a new award was needed to recognise incidents of gallantry that were unconnected with a mans lengthy or meritorious service. Queen Victoria issued a Warrant under the Royal sign-manual on 29 January 1856 that officially constituted the VC, the order was backdated to 1854 to recognise acts of valour during the Crimean War. Queen Victoria had instructed the War Office to strike a new medal that would not recognise birth or class, the medal was meant to be a simple decoration that would be highly prized and eagerly sought after by those in the military services
Distinguished Service Medal (United Kingdom)
The medal was established on 14 October 1914. Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal are entitled to use the post-nominal letters DSM, in 1993, the DSM was discontinued, and since the Distinguished Service Cross has been available for award to personnel of all ranks. A circular silver medal, 36mm in diameter, the obverse bears the crowned effigy of the reigning monarch. The reverse has the inscription FOR DISTINGUISHED SERVICE in three lines, within a wreath surmounted by an Imperial crown. The suspender is plain and straight, the ribbon is 1.25 inches wide and consists of three equal stripes, dark blue and dark blue, with a thin dark blue stripe down the centre of the white. Bars were authorised for subsequent awards, bars issued during the First World War were dated on the reverse, while those awarded during the Second World War were undated. British and Commonwealth orders and decorations Australian Honours Order of Precedence
South African military decorations order of wear
Five more South African campaign medals were instituted during the Colonial era until 1910, when the Union of South Africa was established as a dominion of the British Empire. After Union and until 1952, members of the Union Defence Forces could be awarded decorations and medals of the British Empire and, from 1949, the British Commonwealth. The first purely South African military orders and medals were instituted in 1952 by Queen Elizabeth II, the Monarch of the United Kingdom and the Commonwealth realms. These awards were instituted in seven groups for the seven military and para-military forces which were integrated into the South African National Defence Force in 1994. The Union of South Africa was established on 31 May 1910 in terms of the South Africa Act,1909, enacted by the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Union Defence Forces were established in 1912 in terms of the Union Defence Act, no.13 of 1912, the UDF were renamed the South African Defence Force in 1958. On 27 April 1994 the SADF was integrated with six other independent South African military and para-military forces into the South African National Defence Force, the seven constituent forces of the SANDF were, The South African Defence Force.
Umkhonto we Sizwe, the wing of the African National Congress. The Azanian Peoples Liberation Army, the wing of the Pan Africanist Congress. Until 31 May 1961 the Fount of Honour was the British monarch, in 1961 the State President of South Africa became the Fount of Honour. In the TBVC states, established between 1976 and 1981, the Founts of Honour were the respective State Presidents, on 27 April 1994 the President of South Africa became the Fount of Honour for all military orders and medals. In 1952 a series of decorations and medals was instituted by Queen Elizabeth II, consisting of substitutes for many of the British. There were initially ten awards, to which a further eight as well as an emblem for being mentioned in dispatches were added between 1953 and 1970. All displayed the national Coat of Arms on the reverse, with the exception of the Union Medal and those awarded before South Africa became a republic in 1961 had Queen Elizabeth IIs royal cipher above the Coat of Arms on the reverse.
During the limited representation Republican era, in July 1975, the military decorations and they were followed by another eleven new decorations and medals between 1987 and 1991. With the exception of the Pro Virtute Decoration, the trio of Good Service Medals, between 1976 and 1981 the four independent republics of Transkei, Bophuthatswana and Ciskei, known collectively as the TBVC states, were established within South Africa. Each of them instituted a set of decorations and medals for award to members of their respective defence forces. On 27 April 1994 South Africa became a representative republic
Distinguished Conduct Medal
The Distinguished Conduct Medal, post-nominal letters DCM, was established in 1854 by Queen Victoria as a decoration for gallantry in the field by other ranks of the British Army. It is the oldest British award for gallantry and was a second level military decoration, the medal was awarded to non-commissioned military personnel of other Commonwealth Dominions and Colonies. Prior to the institution of this decoration, there had been no medal awarded by the British government in recognition of acts of gallantry in the Army. One known prior award for acts of gallantry by other ranks was the unofficial Sir Harry Smiths Medal for Gallantry, although the British government initially disapproved of Sir Harrys institution of the medal, it subsequently paid for it and thereby gave it recognition, but not official status. Recipients of the Distinguished Conduct Medal are entitled to the post-nominal letters DCM, a Bar to the medal, introduced in 1881, could be awarded in recognition of each subsequent act of distinguished conduct for which the medal would have been awarded.
During the First World War, the concern arose that the number of medals which were being awarded would devalue the prestige of those already awarded. The Military Medal for bravery in battle on land was instituted on 25 March 1916. The lesser Military Medal was usually awarded for bravery from this date, around 25,000 Distinguished Conduct Medals were awarded during the First World War, while approximately 1,900 were awarded during the Second World War. The medal could be awarded to personnel serving in any of the Sovereigns forces in the British Empire. It remained an exclusively Army award until 1942, when other ranks of the Royal Navy, Royal Air Force, in May 1894, Queen Victoria authorised Colonial governments to adopt various military medals and to award them to their local military forces. The Colony of Natal and the Cape Colony introduced this system in August and September 1894 respectively, other territories which made use of the opportunity were Australia and New Zealand. In respect of the Distinguished Conduct Medal, two versions are known to have been awarded, both King Edward VII versions.
A territorial version of the Distinguished Conduct Medal was approved for the Union of South Africa in 1913, More than 300 members of the Union Defence Forces were awarded the applicable British versions of the decoration during the two World Wars. These three decorations were replaced by the Conspicuous Gallantry Cross, to serve as the second award for gallantry for all ranks of all the Arms of the Service. The medal was struck in silver and is a disk,36 millimetres in diameter and 3 millimetres thick, the suspender of all versions of the medal is an ornamented scroll pattern. The manner of attachment of the suspender to the medal varied between medal versions and, on early versions, allows the medal to swivel, all medals awarded bear the recipient’s number, rank and unit on the rim. From 1902, after the accession of King Edward VII, the effigy of the reigning monarch replaced the trophy of arms, King Edward VII – EDWARDVS VII REX IMPERATOR. King George V, bareheaded – GEORGIVS V BRITT, OMN, REX ET IND, King George V, crowned – GEORGIVS•V•D•G•BRITT•OMN•REX•ET•INDIÆ•IMP•
Rod of Asclepius
The symbol has continued to be used in modern times, where it is associated with medicine and health care, yet frequently confused with the staff of the god Hermes, the caduceus. Theories have been proposed about the Greek origin of the symbol, the Rod of Asclepius takes its name from the god Asclepius, a deity associated with healing and medicinal arts in Greek mythology. Asclepius attributes, the snake and the staff, sometimes depicted separately in antiquity, are combined in this symbol, the most famous temple of Asclepius was at Epidaurus in north-eastern Peloponnese. Another famous healing temple was located on the island of Kos, where Hippocrates, other asclepieia were situated in Trikala and Pergamum in Asia. These snakes were introduced at the founding of new temple of Asclepius throughout the classical world. From about 300 BC onwards, the cult of Asclepius grew very popular, ritual purification would be followed by offerings or sacrifices to the god, and the supplicant would spend the night in the holiest part of the sanctuary – the abaton.
Any dreams or visions would be reported to a priest who would prescribe the appropriate therapy by a process of interpretation, Some healing temples used sacred dogs to lick the wounds of sick petitioners. The original Hippocratic Oath began with the invocation I swear by Apollo the Physician and by Asclepius and by Hygieia and Panacea, the serpent and the staff appear to have been separate symbols that were combined at some point in the development of the Asclepian cult. Snake venom appears to have been prescribed in cases as a form of therapy. The staff has been variously interpreted, one view is that it, like the serpent, conveyed notions of resurrection and healing, while another is that the staff was a walking stick associated with itinerant physicians. The staff seems to be a symbol of some similar thing, in any case the two symbols certainly merged in antiquity as representations of the snake coiled about the staff are common. It has been claimed that the snake wrapped around the staff was a species of rat snake, AKA Aesculapian snake Some commentators have linked the symbol to the Nehushtan, a sacred object consisting of a serpent wrapped around a pole mentioned in the Bible in the Book of Numbers.
The section in the Book of Numbers reads as follows,5 And the people spake against God, for there is no bread, neither is there any water, and our soul loatheth this light bread. 6 And the Lord sent fiery serpents among the people, and they bit the people, and much people of Israel died. 7 Therefore the people came to Moses, and said, We have sinned, for we have spoken against the Lord, and against thee, pray unto the Lord, and Moses prayed for the people. 8 And the Lord said unto Moses, Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole, and it shall come to pass, that one that is bitten. 9 And Moses made a serpent of brass, and put it upon a pole, and it came to pass, that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. King Hezekiah destroyed the bronze serpent, which, by time, had existed for 700 years
Distinguished Flying Cross (United Kingdom)
The award was established on 3 June 1918, shortly after the formation of the Royal Air Force. It was originally awarded to RAF commissioned and warrant officers, during the Second World War, it was awarded to Royal Artillery officers serving on attachment to the RAF as pilots-cum-artillery observers. Recipients of the Distinguished Flying Cross are entitled to use the post-nominal letters DFC, a bar is added to the ribbon for holders of the DFC who received a second award. During the First World War, approximately 1,100 DFCs were awarded, with 70 first bars, during the Second World War,20,354 DFCs were awarded, the most of any award, with approximately 1,550 first bars and 45-second bars. Honorary awards were made on 964 occasions to aircrew from other non-Commonwealth countries, the decoration is a cross flory and is 2⅛ inches wide. The horizontal and bottom bars are terminated with bumps, the bar with a rose. The decorations face features aeroplane propellers, superimposed on the arms of the cross.
In the centre is a wreath around the RAF monogram. The reverse features the Royal Cypher in the centre and the year of issue engraved on the lower arm, the ribbon was originally white with purple broad horizontal stripes, but it was changed in 1919 to the current white with purple broad diagonal stripes. The decoration was designed by Edward Carter Preston, john Balmer, RAAF pilot Roy Calvert, RNZAF pilot who was awarded the DFC three times. Harry Cobby, flying ace of the Australian Flying Corps who was awarded the DFC three times, gordon Cochrane, RNZAF pilot who was awarded the DFC three times. Flight Lieutenant Michelle Goodman, in 2008, she became the first woman to be awarded the DFC, harold Whistler, Royal Flying Corps flying ace who was awarded the DFC three times Arjan Singh, Indian Air Force was awarded the DFC. He become Marshal of Indian Air Force Mohinder Singh Pujji and he was Equerry to King George VI 1944–1952 and held the same position for Queen Elizabeth II 1952–1953. Townsend had a romance with Princess Margaret, james Douglas Hudson, DFC AE RAFVR Commonwealth Realms orders and decorations Distinguished Flying Cross Search recommendations for the Distinguished Flying Cross on The National Archives website
Nkwe ya Selefera
The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard, post-nominal letters NS, was instituted by the President of the Republic of South Africa on 16 April 2003 and came into effect on 27 April 2003. It is South Africas second highest military decoration for bravery, the Union Defence Forces were established in 1912 and renamed the South African Defence Force in 1958. On 27 April 1994, it was integrated with six other independent forces into the South African National Defence Force. The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard, post-nominal letters NS, was instituted by the President of South Africa on 16 April 2003, the bilingual title of the decoration is in Sesotho and English. This decoration replaced the Honoris Crux as South Africas second highest military decoration for bravery and it is the middle award of a set of three military decorations for bravery, along with the Nkwe ya Gauta - Golden Leopard and the Nkwe ya Boronse - Bronze Leopard. A Bar may be awarded for every subsequent action which would make recipients eligible for the award of the same decoration, the decoration and bar may be awarded posthumously.
Deliberate but daring and conspicuous actions on an occasion or over a period of time. A dangerous, serious and/or critical situation, a possibility of loss of own life and/or endangered own life for others. Succeeded by the Pro Virtute Decoration of the Republic of South Africa, official national order of precedence Preceded by the Star for Bravery in Silver of Umkhonto we Sizwe. Succeeded by the Mendi Decoration for Bravery, Silver of the Republic of South Africa, obverse The Nkwe ya Selefera - Silver Leopard is a five-armed cross paty, struck in silver, with a diameter of 38 millimetres. The arms of the cross are bordered and the extremities embowed, in the centre of the obverse is a light blue enamel roundel,19 millimetres in diameter, with a silver leopards head. Reverse The reverse bears, in relief, the Coat of arms of South Africa, the decoration is attached to a plain silver suspender, affixed to the upper arm of the decoration. The decoration number is stamped or engraved below the Coat of Arms, ribbon The ribbon is 32 millimetres wide and sky blue, with 6 millimetres wide white edges.
The blue represents the feathers of the crane, which Xhosa kings used to present to brave warriors. When only a bar is worn, a button replica of the decoration,8 millimetres in diameter. The insignia are struck in silver and is worn on the ribbon, crossed swords for the South African Army. An eagle for the South African Air Force, an Anchor for the South African Navy. The Rod of Aesculapius for the South African Military Health Service, in respect of those recipients about whom it is available, the actions they were cited for follow below the table, since inclusion in the table itself is impractical
Blue crane
The blue crane, known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN, the blue crane is a tall, ground-dwelling bird, but is fairly small by the standards of the crane family. It is 100–120 cm tall, with a wingspan of 180–200 cm, among standard measurements, the wing chord measures 51. 4–59 cm, the exposed culmen measures 8–10 cm and the tarsus measures 20. 5–25.2 cm. This crane is pale blue-gray in colour becoming darker on the head, neck. From the crown to the lores, the plumage is distinctly lighter, the bill is ochre to greyish, with a pink tinge. The long wingtip feathers which trail to the ground, the primaries are black to slate grey, with dark coverts and blackish on the secondaries. Unlike most cranes, it has a large head and a proportionately thin neck. Juveniles are similar but slightly lighter, with coloration on the head. Blue cranes are birds of the dry uplands, usually the pastured grasses of hills, valleys.
They prefer areas in the season that have access to both upland and wetland areas, though they feed almost entirely in dry areas. They are altitudinal migrants, generally nesting in the grasslands of an elevation of around 1,300 to 2,000 m. Though historically found in areas of low human disturbance, the crane is currently thriving in the highly transformed agricultural areas of the Western Cape. Even species with population numbers now are found over a considerable range in their migratory movements. The blue crane is migratory, primarily altitudinal, but details are little known, the blue crane is partially social, less so during the breeding season. There is a hierarchy in groups, with the larger adult males being dominant. They overlap in range with 3 other crane species but interactions with these species and they are relentlessly aggressive to various other animals during the nesting season, attacking non-predatory species such as cattle, tortoises and even sparrows. Humans are attacked if they approach a nest too closely, with the male having torn clothes.
Blue cranes feed from the ground and appear to feed near wetland areas
South Africa
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