Cranes of North America

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North America is the home of two species of crane, The Sandhill Crane and the Whooping Crane. In 2013, during the annual spring migration, an Eurasian Crane was spotted along the Platte River in Nebraska. This Crane is not normally seen in North America.

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis)

Whooping Crane (Grus americana)

Sandhill Cranes feather colors are grey, but due to staining, they often appear ochre in color.
Summer Range: Northern North America and Northeastern Siberia; Winter Range: Southern USA, Mexico and several Caribbean Islands.

Whooping Cranes are the rarest and most endangered of all cranes.
Their feathers are pure white, with black wing tips. The albino Sandhill Crane is often misidentified as a Whooping Crane, but the albino is smaller in size.

Distinguishing features: red patch on forehead.
During the spring migration (January through April), over 600,000 congregate along the Platte River in Nebraska between Kearney and Grand Island.
Sandhill Cranes are not under threat. Several USA states allow hunting of this bird.
They are the most abundant species of crane.
There are six subspecies of the Sandhill Crane, two of which are endangered (the Cuban and the Mississippian Sandhill Crane).

Whooping Cranes summer at Wood Buffalo National Park in the Northwest Territories of Canada and Necedah NWR in Wisconsin. They winter at Aransas NWR in Texas and Chassahowitzka NWR in Florida.
Distinguishing feature: small red patch on forehead.
During the spring migration, the Aransas flock spends a short time along the Platte River in Nebraska between Kearney and Grand Island.
Threats: In 1941 there were only 22 known birds remaining. By 2007, there were over 500 captive and in the wild. Much of the increase has been due to captive breeding.

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