Two demoiselle cranes were pictured foraging in the Xilingol Wetland in north China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.

The birds might look delicate with their distinctive dramatic plumage, but don't let their looks fool you. These are tough birds that have to undergo one of the hardest migration routes in the world: over the Himalayas.

Their dainty appearance earned the birds the title "demoiselle," which is French for "damsel." Marie Antoinette, the last Queen of France, bestowed this name upon them.

The demoiselle crane is under second-class state protection in China.

(Cover photo by Zhang Ming with Luli Studio.)

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