Distinguishing Characteristics The whooping Crane has long legs and a long neck which is stretched out when they fly, unlike the heron. They have long straight bills with bare heads that have a tuft of red feathers on them. Their bodies are usually white, gray, or brown, along with that they also have black wing tips.

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Classification...Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: AvesOrder: GruiformesFamily: GruidaeGenus: GrusSpecies: Grus americanas

-Close relatives-Close relatives of the Whooping Crane are the Limpkins, New World trumpeters, some herons, and the snow goose

The Whooping Crane can be found most commonly in North America, Canada, Florida, and Wisconsin. Their habitat consists of a nest on the ground, usually on a raised area around a freshwater marsh. They migrate in shallow lakes and lagoons, and saltwater marshes. As for the food chain, the

whooping crane eats plants and small animals such as molluscs, crustaceans, insects, fish, frogs,

and waste grains. Their predators include, black bears, wolverines, gray wolf, red fox, bobcats, large

raptors.

ABOUT THE WHOOPING CRANE

G R U I D A E F A M I L Y

WHOOPING CraneC R I T I C A L L Y

E N D A N G E R E Dthe

z Reasons for endangerment z

When migrating the Whooping Cranes’ rest areas usually are in places where oil leaks are common. There is also the problem of power line collisions, loss of resting habitat, and illegal shooting. Another problem is that they find a mate, then wait for up to 4 years before reproducing. This is not fast enough to keep the species thriving

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ReproductionCranes do a courtship dance to attract a mate. This dance includes a series of cries and complicated moves and flapping of the wings. They only mate with one crane for life, however if the crane dies the other will re-mate. The babies they produce can feed themselves and swim and hunt after just one day.

Laws protecting this birdThere were several laws established to protect the whooping crane. The main ones include the Migratory Bird Treaty, Convention on

International Trade Endangered Species, U.S. Endangered species Act, Canada Wildlife Act, And the Canadian Migratory Birds Convention Act. Many of these laws prevent people from shooting the birds if they happen to land in their yard. They also give the birds permission to be on any land during migration and so forth.

They need help!As their yearly routine the Whooping crane migrates away from the cold, to warmer areas such as Aransas. They stop often to rest and eat. Unfortunately since they’ve been held in captivity lately to try to increase their numbers, the parents are never able to teach their young to migrate. In 1941 the Whooping Crane population was reduced to a horrifying 16 individuals. However, they have been making a steady recovery, by 2004 there were over 213 living in the wild.

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Interesting facts -Since Whooping Cranes have been held in captivity they have not learned how to migrate like normal cranes, since their parents are usually the ones to teach them. Scientists have attempted to teach the birds how to migrate using an ultralight plane. They play plane sounds to the eggs before they hatch, let the younglings play around the plane at an early age, and teach them how to follow it on the ground. Then, when they take it into the air, they follow it, it took nearly 15 years to complete this process, but when they did, it was well worth the effort!

-Most Whooping Cranes lay two eggs, but only one of them usually survive.

-Standing at 5 feet, the Whooping Cranes are the tallest bird in the world, they have a wingspan of 7 feet.

ADAPTATIONSWhooping Cranes have long legs, and a long neck which allows them to catch fish in shallow lakes for food. They also have strong and long wings enabling them to make the long flight for migration. They also have very keen hearing, which may alert the to their predators.

Resources<ref>biology.mcgill.ca/undergra/c465a/biodiver/2000/whooping-crane/whooping-crane.htm#threat</ref>

<ref>http://www.bismarcktribune.com/articles/2007/10/04/news/update/doc470551edaa9ea567484603.txt</ref>

<ref>http://www.audubon2.org/watchlist/viewSpecies.jsp?id=214</ref>

<ref>http://www.saskschool.ca/~gregory/animals/crane1.html</ref>

<ref>www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/Whooping_Crane.html</ref>

<ref>http://findartides.com/p/artides/mi_qa4128/is_ai_n16537192</ref>

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