The Common Crane (Grus grus) is found in the northern parts of Europe and Asia. Formerly the species was spread as far west as Ireland, but about 200 years ago, it became extinct there. However, it has since started to return to Ireland naturally and there are now plans to help it return to Ireland on a greater scale. The Common Crane is an uncommon breeder in southern Europe, smaller numbers breeding in Greece, Yugoslavia, Romania, Denmark and Germany. Larger breeding populations can found in Scandinavia, especially Finland and Sweden. The heart of the breeding population for the species is in Russia, however, where possibly up to 100,000 cranes of this species can be found seasonally. In Russia, it is distributed as a breeder from the Ukraine region to the Chukchi Peninsula. The breeding population extends as far south as Manchuria but almost the entire Asian breeding population is restricted to Russia. (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)