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Sandhill Crane
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Species
description provided by eNature
Description
34-48" (86-122 cm). W. 6' 8" (2 m). Very tall, with long
neck and legs. Largely gray, with red forehead; immature browner,
no red on head. Plumage often appears rusty because of iron stains
from water of tundra ponds.
Endangered Status
The Mississippi Sandhill Crane, a subspecies of the Sandhill Crane,
is on the US Endangered Species List. It is classified as endangered
in Mississippi. Apparently the Sandhill Crane was always more numerous
than the larger Whooping Crane, and the fact that it breeds mostly
in the remote Arctic has saved it from the fate of its relative.
But it is sensitive to human disturbance, and the draining of marshes
has reduced nesting populations in the United States. The Mississippi
subspecies declined in the mid-20th century when its preferred savannah
habitat was planted over with slash pines. Commercial and residential
development, the building of highways, pollution, and other factors
have caused further deterioration to the habitat. Most of the current
crane population and its habitat are protected in the Mississippi
Sandhill Crane National Wildlife Refuge. The Grand Bay National
Wildlife Refuge to the southeast may be able to sustain a second
population of cranes.
Voice
A loud rattling kar-r-r-r-o-o-o.
Habitat
Large freshwater marshes, prairie ponds, and marshy tundra; also
on prairies and grainfields during migration and in winter.
Nesting
2 buff eggs, spotted with brown, in a large mound of grass and aquatic
plants in an undisturbed marsh.
Range
Breeds from Siberia and Alaska east across Arctic Canada to Hudson
Bay and south to western Ontario, with isolated populations in Rocky
Mountains, northern prairies, and Great Lakes region, and in Mississippi,
Georgia, and Florida. Winters in California's Central Valley, and
across southern states from Arizona to Florida. Also in Cuba.
Discussion
These cranes migrate in great flocks and assemble in vast numbers
at places like the Platte River in Nebraska. Here it is possible
to see what must have been a common sight when the species bred
over most of the interior United States. The mating dance of the
Sandhill Crane is spectacular. Facing each other, members of a pair
leap into the air with wings extended and feet thrown forward. Then
they bow to each other and repeat the performance, uttering loud
croaking calls. Courting birds also run about with their wings outstretched
and toss tufts of grass in the air.
