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© Dean Foy

Sandhill Crane

Grus canadensis

Physical Characteristics

  • The crown of the head is bare and red, the cheeks and neck are pale gray to white. The body is slate gray with the feathers getting darker toward the tips. The bill is dull to olive-gray and the legs are black.
  • Size of average adult
    • wingspan: 1.5 feet
    • weight: males = 8 pounds, females = 7 pounds

Diet

  • Wild: corn, invertebrates and cereal grains

Behavior

  • Digs with bill to extract food from soil
  • Small pieces of food are picked up with the tip of the bill, tossed in the air, and then caught further back in the bill
  • Travels from roost area to feed and then back to roost area at night
  • Reproduction
    • breeding season: generally March - June
    • clutch size: 2 eggs
    • incubation: 30 days
    • after hatching the parents break the egg shells into small pieces and feed them to the young, the chicks often leave the nest 6 hours after hatching, sometimes even swimming short distances

Environmental/Global

  • Habitat: lowland tundra and associated marshes, shorelines of rivers, lakes and coastal areas (breeding) to shallow, alkaline lakes with sorghum fields nearby
  • Distribution: Alaska, Colorado, Minnesota, Wisconsin and Michigan (breeding) to South Carolina, New Mexico, Texas and Florida (wintering)
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