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Grus canadensis

(Mississippi Sandhill Crane)

Overview

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Interesting Facts

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Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Czech:

Jer

Common Names in Danish:

Pr

Common Names in Dutch:

Canadese Kraanvogel, Prairie-kraanvogel, Prairiekraanvogel

Common Names in English:

baldhead, Blue Crane, brown crane, Cuba Sandhill Crane, Florida crane, garoo, gray crane, greater sandhill crane, lesser sandhill crane, little brown crane, Mississippi Sandhill Crane, Sandhill Crane, sandhill whooper, upland crane

Common Names in Estonian:

Kanada Kurg

Common Names in Faroese:

Kanadatrani

Common Names in Finnish:

Hietakurki

Common Names in French:

Grue Canadienne, grue du canada

Common Names in German:

Kanada Kranich, Kanadakranich, Kanadischer Kranich

Common Names in Inuktitut:

Tatigak

Common Names in Irish:

Gr

Common Names in Italian:

Gru canadese

Common Names in Japanese:

Kanadaduru, カナダヅル

Common Names in Latin:

Grus canadensis

Common Names in Lithuanian:

Kanadine Gerve

Common Names in Norwegian:

Kanadatrane

Common Names in Polish:

Zuraw Kanadyjski

Common Names in Portuguese:

Grou Do Canad

Common Names in Russian:

Kanadsky Zhuravl

Common Names in Slovenian:

Kanadski

Common Names in Spanish:

Grulla, Grulla canadiense, Grulla gris

Common Names in Spanish (Cuba):

Grulla

Common Names in Spanish (Mexico):

Grulla Canadiense

Common Names in Swedish:

Pr, Prärietrana

Common Names in Turkish:

Kanada Turnasi

Common Names in Welsh:

Garan Y Twyni

Description

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Physical Description

Adult : Head : Crown: dull red skin Face : Cheeks: whitish Chin: whitish Lores : dull red skin Bill: blackish gray Shape : straight Neck: Length : long Throat : whitish Body: gray Legs : Foot Color: blackish gray Leg Color: long blackish gray.

Color:

Mostly gray; top of head , red; bill, legs , and feet black; primaries (outer flight feathers) dark gray to black. Muddy stains from preening may discolor the feathers .

Adult : Dark bill · Unfeathered red crown and lores · Entirely gray plumage, that often becomes stained with rust or brown, especially about the back and wings · Whitish cheeks and chin

Juvenile : Feathered crown · Gray-brown plumage mottled with cinnamon

Size/Age/Growth

About 23 to 48 inches long, with a wingspan of 73 to 90 inches. Adults weigh about 118.4 ounces .

Height 3 feet (0.9m)

Wingspan of 6 feet (1.8m)

Male weight 12 lbs ; female weight 9.5 lbs

Habitat

Freshwater wetlands, shallow marshes or lakes , and wet meadows. This bird's non-breeding habitat is grassland and tends to include drier areas than those needed for breeding.

Vegetation: freshwater marshes, northern temperate grasslands • Foraging Strata: Terrestrial • Center of Abundance: Lower subtropical: lowlands, lower than 500 m.; subtropics. • Sensitivity to Disturbance: Low

Typically found at an altitude of 0 to 2,911 meters (0 to 9,551 feet).[1]

Ecology: List of Habitats :

Biology

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Diet

The diet consists of a variety of foods, including aquatic invertebrates , insects, small vertebrates , seeds, fruits, frogs , rodents, insects, bulbs, seeds, and berries . While on migration, they also eat waste grain,other plant materials , and field animals. The Sandhill Crane searches for most food on the ground or in the water and will eat almost any food item it finds.

Reproduction

The breeding season begins in late January, peaks in March, and extends into August. Breeding habitat consists of grasslands, wetlands, and marshes, usually associated with fresh water . The saucer-shaped nest is placed on the ground or on a mound of plant material to raise the nest above the surface of the water. Both adults build the nest out of sticks , twigs , moss, and other plant material. The female lays 1-3 (usually 2) eggs that she and the male take turns incubating for 28-32 days. The young are precocial and leave the nest within 2 days. The young begin feeding independently about 2 weeks after hatching and can fly when they are 65-70 days old. The young stay with the parents until the following spring .

Young cranes can capture their own food at an early age, but they are frequently fed by the parents. In 67-75 days, the colts have fledged and can make the migration south. Usually, only one of the colts survives long enough to fledge . The sandhill parents raise their young for 10 months.

Breeding Habitat: Wetland-open water Clutch Size: 2 Length of Incubation : 28-32 days Days to Fledge: 65

Migration

Some migrate

Its trumpeting, rattling call can sometimes be heard for more than a mile . This is because the trachea loops once in the sternum instead of going directly to the lungs like most birds.

Taxonomy

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Synonyms

Grus canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name .

Last scrutiny: 28-Nov-2006

Similar Species

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Whooping Crane, Great Blue Heron

Members of the genus Grus

ZipcodeZoo has pages for 20 species and subspecies in this genus:

G. americana (Great White Crane) · G. antigone (Eastern Sarus Crane) · G. antigone antigone (Sarus Crane) · G. canadensis (Mississippi Sandhill Crane) · G. canadensis canadensis (Lesser Sandhill Crane) · G. canadensis mexicana (Sandhill Crane) · G. canadensis nesiotes (Cuba Sandhill Crane) · G. canadensis pratensis (Sandhill Crane) · G. canadensis pulla (Mississippi Sandhill Crane) · G. canadensis tabida (Greater Sandhill Crane) · G. carunculatus (Wattled Crane) · G. grus (Eurasian Crane) · G. japonensis (Red-Crowned Crane) · G. leucogeranus (White Crane) · G. monacha (Hooded Crane) · G. nigricollis (Black-Necked Crane) · G. paradisea (Paradise Crane) · G. rubicunda (Australian Crane) · G. vipio (Japanese White-Naped Crane) · G. virgo (Demoiselle Crane)

More Info

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Further Reading

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal March 05, 2008:

Identifiers

Footnotes

  1. Mean = 28.620 meters (93.898 feet), Standard Deviation = 44.180 based on 110,717 observations. Altitude information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre. [back]
Last Revised: 7/14/2012