Everything about Sandhill Crane totally explained
The
Sandhill Crane (
Grus canadensis) is a large
crane of
North America and extreme northeastern
Siberia. It has one of the the longest fossil histories of any extant bird. But although a 10-million-year-old crane fossil from
Nebraska is often cited as being of this
species, this is more likely from a prehistoric relative or the direct ancestor of the Sandhill Crane but may not even belong in the
genus Grus, while the oldest unequivocal Sandhill Crane fossil is "just" 2.5 million years old. Still, this is nearly half as old again as the earliest remains of most living species of birds, which are not known from remains older than the
Pliocene/
Pleistocene boundary some 1.8 million years ago. As these ancient Sandhill Cranes varied as much in size as the present-day birds, even those
Pliocene fossils were sometimes described as new species.
Grus haydeni on the other hand may or may not have been a prehistoric relative of the living species, or it may actually comprise material of the Sandhill Crane and its ancestor.
The common name of this bird references habitat like that at the
Platte River, on the edge of
Nebraska's
Sandhills in the American midwest. This is the most important stopover area for the Lesser Sandhill Crane,
Grus (canadensis) canadensis, with up to 450,000 of these birds migrating through annually.
Description
Adults are gray overall; during breeding, the plumage is usually much worn and stained, particularly in the migratory populations, and looks nearly
ochre. They have a red forehead, white cheeks and a long dark pointed bill. They have long dark legs which trail behind in flight and a long neck that's kept straight in flight. Immature birds have reddish brown upperparts and gray underparts. The sexes look alike. Size varies among the different
subspecies. This crane frequently gives a loud trumpeting call that suggests a French-style "r" rolled in the throat.
The only other large grayish-bodied wading bird of
North America is the
Great Blue Heron. Although this
heron is of similar dimensions to the Sandhill Crane and is sometimes mistakenly called a "crane", it's different in plumage details and build, and like other herons it flies with its neck tucked towards the body in a flat "S"-shape.
Subspecies and evolution
There is considerable variation in size (much of which is
clinal) and in migratory habits. A male of
G. c. canadensis averages 7.4 lbs (3.34 kg), 39 in (98 cm) in length and has a wingspan of 5.3 ft (1.6 m). A male of
G. c. tabida averages 11 lbs (5 kg), 47 in (119 cm) in length and has a wingspan of 7 ft (2.12 m). The southern populations are intermediate, roughly according to
Bergmann's Rule.
Three
subspecies are resident;
pulla of the
Gulf Coast of the U.S.,
pratensis of
Florida and
Georgia and
nesiotes of
Cuba. The northern populations exist as fragmented remains in the contiguous U.S. and a large and contiguous population from Canada to
Beringia. These migrate to the southwestern
United States and
Mexico. This crane is a rare vagrant to
China,
South Korea and
Japan and a very rare vagrant to
western Europe.
Six subspecies have been recognized in recent times:
Lesser Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis canadensis
Cuban Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis nesiotes – ESA: Endangered
Florida Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis pratensis
Mississippi Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis pulla – ESA: Endangered
Canadian Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis rowani
Greater Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis tabida
The Canadian Sandhill Crane is morphologically not reliably distinct and was never unequivocally accepted as valid subspecies. The other can be somewhat more reliably distinguished in hand by measurements and plumage details, apart from the size differences already mentioned. Unequivocal identification often requires location information, which is often impossible in migrating birds.
Analysis of control region mtDNA haplotype data shows 2 major lineages, one including the Lesser Sandhill Crane or Little Brown Crane, the Arctic and the subarctic migratory population. The other lineages can be divided into a migratory and some indistinct clusters which can be matched to the resident subspecies. The Lesser and Greater Sandhill Cranes are quite distinct, their divergence dating roughly to some time during the Late Pliocene or Early Pleistocene, some 2.3–1.2 million years ago (mya). It seems as if glaciation fragmented off a founder population of the Lesser Sandhill Crane, because during each major ice age its present breeding range was frozen year-round. Still, Sandhill Cranes are amply documented from fossil and subfossil remains right to the modern era. Conceivably, they might be considered distinct species already, a monotypic G. canadensis and the Greater Sandhill Crane G. pratensis, which would include the other populations.
The subspecies pratensis is far less common, with some 5,000 individuals remaining. They are most threatened by habitat destruction and probably depend on human management in the long run. The Mississippi Sandhill Crane has most drastically declined in range; it used to occur along most of the northern Gulf of Mexico coast and its range was at one time nearly parapatric with that of its eastern neighbor (compare the Mottled Duck); today only some 150 remain in an intensively managed population, but this seems at least stable in recent times. Some 300 Cuban Sandhill Cranes remain; this is the least-known of the populations.
Sandhill Cranes have been used as foster parents for Whooping Crane eggs and young in reintroduction schemes for that species. This project failed as these foster-raised Whooping Cranes imprinted on their foster parents and later didn't recognize other Whooping Cranes as their conspecifics – attempting instead, unsuccessfully, to pair with Sandhill Cranes.
Gallery
Image:Canada 19 bg 061904.jpg|Breeding pair at Yellowstone National Park
image:Sandhill Crane with baby.jpg|Adult with colt
Image:Sanhill tgo.jpg|At Bosque del Apache
Image:3Grus_canadensis_flying1.jpg|At Bosque del Apache
Image:SandhillCrane@BosqueDelApac.jpg|At Bosque del Apache
Image:Sandhill_cranes.jpg|Near Jackson, Michigan
Image:Shack and crane.JPG|At Lake Columbia, Michigan
Image:Monte_Vista_3_16_06.jpg|At Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge
Image:Sandhill Cranes at Hontoon Island.jpg|Sandhill Cranes at Hontoon Island State Park
Image:Sandhill Cranes - Hillsborough River State Park.jpg|Sandhill Crane at Hillsborough River State Park
Image:Florida Sandhill Cranes grazing with young.jpg|Florida Sandhill Cranes grazing with young on a golf course in central Florida
Further Information
Get more info on 'Sandhill Crane'.
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