It breeds in alpine bog meadows and riverine marshes, favouring lacustrine marshes from 2,600-4,900 m. It prefers to nest at large water bodies, at a water depth of around 30 cm: this probably minimises exposure to nest predators. It winters in river valleys and along reservoir shorelines in the vicinity of barley and spring wheat fields. Whilst it prefers breeding in lakes, shallow marshes and meadows are the most important habitat for feeding; its diet consists of roots, tubers, insects, snails, shrimps, fish, frogs, small birds and rodents (Wu et al. 2009; Liu et al. 2010a, 2014).

Grus nigricollis breeds on the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, China, with a small population in adjacent Ladakh, India (Li 2019). The breeding area stretches through mostly continuous plateaus (Li 2019). Ruoergai marshes is thought to hold the largest breeding population, estimated at 2,500 mature individuals (Li 2009). 476 individuals (plus 38 chicks) were recorded in a breeding population survey in the Changtang region of Tibet in 2008 (Li 2019). Repeated surveys at Shenzha in the southern part of the Celin Cuo Black-necked Crane National Nature Reserve found 16 nests in 1991 and 30 nests in 2000. Where breeding sites have been revisited, the recent numbers of breeding pairs have been greater than past reports (Li 2019).  

Three isolated wintering populations have been identified at lower altitudes on the Qinghai-Tibet and Yunnan-Guizhou plateaus, China, and Bhutan. 
(1) The Eastern population, approximately 4,300 cranes, winters in northeastern Yunnan and northwestern Guizhou Provinces (Li et al. 2014, Yang & Zhang 2014). The majority winter in three national nature reserves on the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau in this flyway (Dashanbao, Cao Hai and Huize), where 2,469 Black-necked Cranes were counted in 2004 (Li and Yang 2005). Satellite tracking data of eight birds and two colour-banded cranes show birds from Dashanbao and Cao Hai migrate to Ruoergai for breeding (Qian et al. 2009, Wu et al. 1993). Small numbers were once recorded in Vietnam (Bishop & Tsamchu 2007), but this species has not been seen there for over than 30 years. 
(2) The Central population winters in northwestern Yunnan, 232-300 individuals (Li et al. 2014, Yang and Zhang 2014, Q. Liu pers. comm. per M. A. Bishop and F. Li. in litt. 2016). Napahai Provincial NR has a stable population of 270 Black-necked Cranes, an increase from less than 100 in the 1980s and before 1997 (Zhao and Yu 2005, Wang et al. 2009). Napahai is the winter home for >90% of Black-necked Cranes in the central flyway.  
(3) The Western population, approximately 8,700 individuals (Jia et al. 2019), winters in south-central Tibet and Bhutan with a very few regularly wintering in Arunachal Pradesh, India (Chandan et al. 2014). Along the Lower and Middle Reaches of the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra) River Basin in Tibet, a maximum of 8,291 individuals were present in January 2018 (Jia et al. 2019), with the majority using the Middle Yarlung Tsangpo Black-necked Crane NNR. This is an increase on previous counts, 5,559 in 2014 (Zhang et al. 2014), or 6,500 (Yang et al. 2016; fide Jia et al. 2019). and 6,940 in 2007 (Bishop and Tsamchu 2007). Around 550 Black-necked Cranes winter in Bhutan (Phuntsho and Tschering 2014, Royal Society of Protection of Nature [RSPN] 2015), in four wintering sites in Bhutan at Phobjikha, Bumdeling, Khotokha, and Bumthang. Approximately 95% of these occur at the first two sites (Royal Society of Protection of Nature RSPN 2012).

Key sites on the birds' migration include the wetlands of the Ruoergai Plateau (China), which serves as a stopover for some individuals and a breeding ground for others, and Gasa (Bhutan), used as a stopover in both autumn and spring (Lhendup and Webb 2009, Qian et al. 2009, Wu et al. 2009). 

Conservation Actions Underway
CITES Appendix I and II. CMS Appendix I and II. It is legally protected in China, India and Bhutan; with WWF-India and the Royal Society for the Protection of Nature have been taking a leading role in coordinating conservation work for Black-necked Cranes in India and Bhutan, respectively (M. A. Bishop and F. Li in litt. 2016). A Black-necked Crane Conservation Network was formed in China in 2006, and long-term cooperation exists between partners (such as Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Tibet Plateau Institute of Biology, the National Bird Banding Center of China and the International Crane Foundation) to help conserve this species (M. A. Bishop and F. Li in litt. 2016). Major breeding and wintering areas are protected in China, covering a total of 89,073 km² (M. A. Bishop and F. Li in litt. 2016). There have been conservation and development programmes in local communities at the important sites of Cao Hai and Dashanbao. The Indian breeding population occurs in the Changthang Cold Desert Wildlife Sanctuary. Shooting of cranes and other wildlife in the region has been substantially reduced due to control of firearms, better enforcement of wildlife protection laws and greater awareness (J. Harris in litt. 2007). There is an annual census of the wintering population in Bhutan, where there is also November festivals held to raise public awareness of the importance of crane conservation (Anon. 2010a, b), and annual winter counts at Dashanbao, Cao Hai and Napahai. Education programmes also exist at two key sites in China; Cao Hai and Ruoergai (M. A. Bishop and F. Li in litt. 2016). Winter ecology and migration studies have been conducted extensively in recent years. Winter cropping is banned in Bumdeling, Bhutan, to maintain a food supply for the cranes (Lhendup and Webb 2009).

Conservation Actions Proposed
Co-ordinate work on this species throughout its range, including range wide counts, sharing of information on threats and conservation responses and increasing capacity for resource managers such as nature reserve staff (M. A. Bishop and F. Li in litt. 2016). Stop drainage of marshes and the use of pesticides and rodenticides. Maintain water-levels of wetlands at Cao Hai (China) and prohibit encroachment. Leave some harvested fields unploughed in the wintering grounds between November-March. At Ruoergai (China) control meadow livestock during key feeding periods (May to August) and establish protected buffer zones around breeding lakes and swamps (Wu et al. 2009). Restrict livestock at Napahai (China) and maintain a network of farmed areas as wetlands (Qiang Liu et al. 2010). Continue to investigate the species's migration and monitor birds along migration routes (Lhendup and Webb 2009). Include newly identified stopover sites, most of which are not already protected, in the nature reserve system, especially those threatened by disturbance from local herders (Qian et al. 2009). Designate breeding areas in Ladakh (India) as waterbird sanctuaries. Ban settlement expansion in important areas of crane habitat in Bhutan. Careful planning on tourist/eco-tourist development in both wintering and breeding areas. Regulate tourist access to the species. Educate farmers and implement subsidies in important areas to promote management that suits the cranes, and reduce disturbance (M. A. Bishop and F. Li in litt. 2016). Additionally, implement education programmes for the general public, especially students, teachers and policy makers; and promote this species as a flagship for the preservation of high-altitude wetland ecosystems (M. A. Bishop and F. Li in litt. 2016). Create a new action plan for the species (Lhendup and Webb 2009). Monitor the species and its habitat focusing on the impact from climatic and glacial changes on breeding habitats. Establish baseline information on chemical contaminants, including heavy metals and pesticides, to assess impact of these factors on cranes (M. A. Bishop and F. Li in litt. 2016), and as the species may be become more isolated in the future, potentially conduct genetic studies, especially within and between wintering groups that are on separate wintering grounds (M. A. Bishop in litt. 2016).