Sandhill Crane

The sandhill crane is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on the American Great Plains. Sandhill cranes are abundant throughout much of North America, numbering 600,000 to 700,000, although some non-migratory subspecies are considered critically endangered (Mississippi sandhill crane, G. c. pulla; and Cuban sandhill crane, G. Sandhill cranes are large birds, standing 1.0 to 1.2 m (3.2 to 3.9 ft) tall, with a wingspan of 1.8 to 2.0 m (5.9 to 6.5 ft). Males are slightly bigger than females, weighing an average of 3.75 kg (8.3 lbs) compared to the female's average of 3.3 kg (7.2 lbs). The "sandhill" part of their name comes from the Sandhill region of Nebraska. Fossil records show that sandhill cranes have been around for nearly 2.5 million years. They are known to build platform nests out of sticks and plants that float on the water's surface.

Mass: 7.1 – 11 lbs

Scientific name: Grus canadensis

Family: Gruidae

Kingdom: Animalia

Order: Gruiformes

Phylum: Chordata

Distribution:

The large range of the Sandhill crane extends throughout North America, going from northern Canada to northern Mexico. Some also live in Cuba and the very northeastern parts of Siberia. Sandhill cranes are partially migratory; the southern populations stay near their breeding sites all year, while others migrate to the Southwestern United States and Mexico. Sandhill cranes live in a variety of types of open habitats, mainly in freshwater wetlands like bogs, fens, and sedge meadows, as well as pine savanna, grasslands, and cultivated areas.