Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

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A Field Guide to Eastern Birds. by Roger Tory Peterson.

Return to Eastern Cranes

Color Photographs: Copyright Corel Corp.

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

Identification: Length from tip of bill to tip of tail 34 to 48 inches.

Adult: A tall bird with a long neck and long legs. Head gray with a large, red patch on the forehead with its lower margin just below the eye. Neck and body gray. The rear of the body has a large, bustle-like mound of feathers. Legs long, gray.

Immature: Similar in build to the adult, but brown, without a red patch on the forehead.

Similar Species:  The only other North American crane is the Whooping Crane. The Whooping Crane is white with black wing tips.

Breeding Range (see map below): The primary breeding grounds of the Sandhill Crane are in the tundra regions of the North American Arctic from Alaska in the west to the west shores of Hudson's Bay in the east. The species also breeds in scattered localities in the Rocky Mountains and the Great Plains. The species is resident in Florida and northern Georgia.

Overwintering Range:  This species overwinters in the southern United States from southern California in the west to Florida in the east. As already noted, the species in resident all year in Florida and southern Georgia.

Habitat: The Sandhill Crane is found in marshy tundra, freshwater marshes, and prairie ponds during the breeding season. During migration it is commonly found on prairies and grainfields.

Food: The Sandhill Crane eats and wide variety of food including insects, aquatic invertebrates, frogs, and small mammals.

Behavior: The Sandhill Crane has an elaborate mating ritual. A pair stand face to face and then jump into the air with wings extended and the legs pointed forward. They then bow to each other and repeat the act. All the while they make loud, croaking noises. The normal voice is a loud, low, musical rattle.

Reproduction:  The clutch consists of 2 light tan egss with brown spots. The eggs are laid in a large mound of grasses, sedges, and aquatic vegetation in the middle of a marsh.