Whooping Crane
The critically endangered whooping crane is North America's tallest bird.
About This Species
The adult whooping crane is white overall with red facial skin. In flight, black primaries are apparent. Immature birds are white with pale red-brown head and neck and scattered red-brown feathers over the rest of the body. The bird is distinguished by its outstretched neck in flight. It has a shrill trumpeting ker-lee-loo call. Common names are a whooper, big white crane, flying sheep, stork and white crane.
More Information:
Physical Characteristics
Adult whooping cranes are 50 to 56 inches long and have a wingspan of 87 to 90 inches. Males weigh 16 pounds, females weigh 14 pounds. They can have a wing span up to 7.5 feet.
Range
Whooping cranes are endangered both state and federally. Historically, the birds nested over a wide area from Lake Michigan northward to the Arctic coast and wintered along the coasts of Texas and Louisiana and numbered upwards of 10,000. Populations have decreased dramatically since the early 1900s to a low of 15 in 1941 to under 300 individuals today. Whooping cranes have not been seen in Colorado since 2010. The strong homing instinct inhibits the species in expanding its range.
Habitat
They live in mudflats around reservoirs and in agricultural areas. While wintering, they live on salt flats that are dominated by coastal salt grass. Their nesting grounds are wetland communities dominated by bulrush.
Diet
Whooping cranes are omnivorous feeders. The most common foods are crabs, clams, shrimp, snails, frogs, snakes, grasshoppers, larval and nymph forms of flies, beetles, water bugs, birds and small mammals. They eat more than 58 species of fish.
Reproduction
Whooping cranes breed during the summer. The birds arrive on breeding grounds in late April. Whooping cranes are monogamous and form life-long pair bonds. The female lays two eggs, two days apart, during late-April or early-May. The incubation period is 29 to 34 days. Currently, breeding birds number about 100 and there are 260 individuals - 150 in the wild and 110 in captivity. Whooping cranes begin to acquire adult plumage after the first summer. They fledge for 78 to 90 days. The young are abandoned by their parents the following spring and are sexually mature at four to six years of age. In the wild, whooping cranes typically have a lifespan of 22 to 24 years. In captivity the lifespan is increased to 27 to 40 years.
Threats to Species
- Destruction of migratory and winter habitat
- Wetland drainage
- Increased development
- Conversion of habitat to agriculture
- Climate change
- Reduction of river flows