Gray crown cranes have a short beak. On its head it has golden crown feathers. They have a gray plumage and red wattles on the throat. Both sexes have the same plumage. The body length is 100 to 110 cm and the weight 3 to 4 kg.
Gray crowned cranes are the only cranes that regularly perch in trees. They eat insects and small mammals found in herds of ungulates that they occasionally follow. Outside the breeding season, the bird leads a roaming existence. They are resident birds.
In Uganda, the gray-crowned crane is a national symbol and as such is also on the Ugandan flag and the coat of arms of Uganda.
As chicks they grow very fast. They are born with already quite large legs and these will remain in front during the first few weeks of development.