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Whooping Crane
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| Whooping Crane © Bates
Littlehales Courtesy of eNature |
Species
description provided by eNature
Description
45-50" (1.1-1.3 m). W. 7' 6" (2.3 m). A very
large crane, pure white with black wing tips, red on forehead and
cheeks. Young birds similar, but strongly tinged with brown.
Endangered Status
The whooping crane is on the US Endangered Species List.
It is classified as endangered in Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Montana,
North Dakota, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas,
Utah, and Wyoming. The majestic whooping crane was reduced by hunting
and habitat destruction to about 15 birds in 1937. Strictly protected
and monitored since then, the population has grown to more than
300 birds. A population of about 175 cranes breed in Wood Buffalo
National Park, Canada, on the Alberta-Mackenzie border, and winters
on the Gulf coast of Texas at the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
A program to reintroduce endangered whooping cranes at Grays Lake
National Wildlife Refuge in Idaho ultimately failed. Whooping crane
eggs were hatched by sandhill crane foster parents, but the resulting
offspring, having imprinted on the sandhill cranes, failed to mate
with other whooping cranes. Some cranes winter at Bosque del Apache
National Wildlife Refuge in New Mexico, and a year-round flock now
lives in Kissimmee Prairie, Florida. Attempts are being made to
establish a migrating flock in the East.
Voice
A trumpet-like call that can be heard for several miles.
Habitat
Breeds in northern freshwater bogs; winters on coastal
prairies.
Nesting
Two buff eggs, blotched with brown, on a mound of marsh
vegetation.
Range
Breeds in Wood Buffalo National Park on Alberta-Mackenzie
border. Winters on Gulf Coast of Texas at Aransas National Wildlife
Refuge. A few winter at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge
in New Mexico. A flock has been established in Florida.
Discussion
One of our most spectacular birds, the whooping crane stands
nearly 5 feet tall and has a wingspan of more than 7 feet. The Wood
Buffalo/Arkansas flock migrates 2,500 miles each way between its
nesting grounds and its wintering grounds. It nests in impenetrable
muskeg wilderness and winters in salt marshes.
