Grus americana
whooping crane

Once widespread in North America, ranging from Utah across the continent into New England and down the Atlantic seaground. Over the past century, however, its range has shrunk as agriculturalists reclaimed vast marshes used for nesting. Currently the only self-sustaining wild population consists of about 145 Whoopng Cranes that migrate between breeding grounds in northern Canada and wintering habitat in the Texas coast.

Cranes nest, sleep, and feed in open, marshy places, in which they pick up a range of plant and animal foods. Ideal habitat is grassy plains interspersed with marshes, numerous lakes and ponds.

1.4 m tall. Mostly white except for black primary feathers on wings (visible when bird is in flight). Red on top and sides of head beneath eyes. Sexes look alike.

Partners share in incubation and tending of one or two young. Pairs establish lifelong bonds, maintained and reinforced by courtship dances and nuptial displays. Cranes make loud trumpeting calls when courting and during flight, and it is easy to understand why they are easy prey, particularly for man. Rapid growth enables the young to take part, only 4 months after birth, in the long flight to the wintering grounds in Texas, some 2100 miles away. They may mingle with the Canadian sandhill crane during migration, thus at times they are mistaken for that species.

Whooping cranes have variable diets from month to month and from one winter to another. Fecal samples from one year showed that wolfberry, blue crabs, and fish were important in early winter, but as months passed, clams became a food staple. Next year, snails and wolf berries predominated in winter; then blue crabs supplied most food from January to mid-February before the birds shifted back to clams and aquatic snails. They also eat insects, acorns, and plant tubers.

The large cranes were source of good palatable meat and were shot for the table. The rarer the bird became, the higher the price commanded for their skins and for the eggs sought after by the collectors.

Disappearance of nesting areas in the U.S. was caused by the drying out of the marshes. In addition to the slow reproductive rate, causes of the decline in the populations of whooping cranes include diseases and natural hazards such as storms. In 1941, only 21 birds were observed; however, with the rescue efforts that began in 1968, the number gradually increased to 96 in 1995. More importantly, there are now two populations in the wild. It is thought that conservation activities were long delayed because the larger number of migrating sandhill cranes had been mistaken for whooping cranes. Conservationists have attempted to use sandhill cranes as foster parents for whooping cranes, due to the biological similarities of the two species, including their migration and breeding behaviors.

The family name Gruidae was derived from the Greek word geranos, which refers to gutteral, rippling sounds made by common cranes.