Sandhill Crane

Description:

Adults are gray overall; during breeding, the plumage is usually much worn and stained, particularly in the migratory populations, and looks nearly ochre. The average weight of the larger male is 4.57 kg (10.1 lb), while the average weight of females is 4.02 kg (8.9 lb), with a range of 2.7 to 6.7 kg (6.0 to 15 lb) across the subspecies.[1][2] The Sandhill Crane has a red forehead, white cheeks and a long dark pointed bill. Its long dark legs trail behind in flight, and the long neck is kept straight in flight. Immature birds have reddish brown upperparts and gray underparts.[3][4] The sexes look alike. Size varies among the different subspecies. The standard linear measurements of the Sandhill are: the wing chord measures 41.8–60 cm (16.5–24 in), the tail is 10–26.4 cm (3.9–10.4 in), the exposed culmen is 6.9–16 cm (2.7–6.3 in) long and the tarsus measures 15.5–26.6 cm (6.1–10.5 in).[5] This crane frequently gives a loud trumpeting call that suggests a French-style "r" rolled in the throat, and they can be heard from a long distance. Mated pairs of cranes engage in "unison calling." The cranes stand close together, calling in a synchronized and complex duet. The female makes two calls for every single call of the male. The sandhill crane's large wingspan, typically 1.65 to 2.1 m (5.4 to 6.9 ft), makes this a very skilled soaring bird similar in style to hawks and eagles. Utilizing thermals to obtain lift, they can stay aloft for many hours, requiring only occasional flapping of their wings and consequently expending little energy. With migratory flocks containing hundreds of birds, they can create clear outlines of the normally invisible rising columns of air (thermals) that they ride. The Sandhill Crane flies south for the winter. In their wintering areas they form flocks of over 10,000 birds. One place to observe this is at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge, 100 miles south of Albuquerque, New Mexico. There is an annual Sandhill Crane Festival in November.

Habitat:

It appears as if the scant differences between southern Canadian and western U.S. populations result from genetic drift due to the recent reduction in population and range fragmentation; until the early 20th century the southern migratory birds occupied a much larger and continuous range. Thus, the subspecies rowani may well be abandoned. The two southern U.S. resident populations are somewhat more distinct, while the Cuban population has been comparatively little studied but appears to have been established on the island for a long time. These and the migratory Greater Sandhill Crane proper form a group of lineages that diverged much more recently from a range in the southern U.S. and maybe northern Mexico, where they would have been resident. The southern migratory population would then represent a later re-expansion which (re-)evolved their migratory habits independent from the northernmost birds, the geographically separated populations expanding rapidly in numbers when more habitat was available as the last ice age ende

Notes:

I was so excited when I got theese pics. This is the first baby Sandhill Ive ever seen! Love it!