Grey Crowned Cranes are about 1 metre tall - roughly the height of a young child. They have very long legs, perfect for wading slowly through wet grasslands looking for insects, frogs and grass seeds to eat. When they take off, they spread wings nearly 2 metres across.
The crown of golden feathers is what makes the bird so famous. The feathers stand straight up like a king's headdress, and when sunlight catches them they shimmer. The Ugandan flag shows a crane facing right with its golden crown clearly visible against the black, yellow and red stripes.
Grey Crowned Cranes do beautiful courtship dances. A pair will face each other and bow, jump up in the air, flap their wings, and sometimes pick up a tuft of grass and toss it. They mate for life. Once a pair finds each other, they often stay together for the rest of their lives - 20 years or more.
Sadly, there are fewer Grey Crowned Cranes than there used to be. Uganda has made it illegal to capture them, and there are special groups working to protect their wetland homes. Children in Ugandan schools learn to recognise the bird's call - a soft 'youuu-trumpeting' sound - and to celebrate spotting one in the wild.