Sandhill Crane

Sandhill Crane, adults

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Sandhill Crane, juvenile

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1. Cool Facts
2. Description
3. Similar Species
4. Sound
5. Range
6. Habitat
7. Food
8. Reproduction
9. Conservation Status
10. Other Names

The Sandhill Crane is a tall gray bird of open grasslands, meadows, and wetlands. It congregates in huge numbers in migration.

Cool Facts

• The Sandhill Crane does not breed until it is two to seven years old. It can live up to the age of 20. Mated pairs stay together year round, and migrate south as a group with their offspring.

Description

• Size: 120 cm (47 in)
• Wingspan: 200 cm (79 in)
• Weight: 3400-4900 g (120.02-172.97 ounces)

• Very large bird.
• Long neck.
• Long Legs.
• Gray body, may be stained reddish.
• Red forehead.
• White cheek.
• Tufted feathers over rump.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike, male slightly larger.

Immature

Similar to adult, but mottled gray and brown, and without facial markings or bald forehead.

Similar Species

• Great Blue Heron, often called a "crane," is smaller, lacks the fluffy rear end and the red forehead, and flies with its neck curled against the body instead of straight out.

Sound

A deep, rolling trumpet and rattling.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Breeds across Alaska and Canada, eastward to western Quebec, and southward to northern United States. Also in scattered localities across western United States. Also in Siberia. Resident in southern Florida and Cuba.

Winter Range

Winters in southern United States and northern Mexico.

Habitat

Breeds in open marshes or bogs, and in wet grasslands and meadows. Feed in marshes and grain fields.

Food

Mostly grains and seeds, some insects, other invertebrates, and small vertebrates.

Reproduction

Nest Type

Large mound of vegetation in water, floating or attached to vegetation.

Egg Description

Pale brownish, irregularly marked with darker brown.

Condition at Hatching

Covered with down and able to walk soon after hatching. Feed themselves within one day.

Conservation Status

One of the few crane species in the world that is still common. Mississippi and Cuban populations endangered.

Other Names

Grue Canadienne, Grue de Canada (French)
Grulla, Grulla Cenicienta, Grulla del Canada (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Tacha, T. C., S. A. Nesbitt, and P. A. Vohs. 1992. Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis). In The Birds of North America, No. 31 (A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists' Union.