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Courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife
Whooping Crane
Grus americana
Description: Standing 5 feet tall, whooping cranes are the tallest birds in North America. They are white with rust-colored patches on top and back of head and have black legs and bills. Their primary wing feathers are black but are visible only in flight.
Life History: Whooping cranes can live up to 24 years in the wild and mate for life. The mated pair shares brooding duties; either the male or the female is always on the nest. Generally, one chick survives.
Their diet consists of wide variety of plant and animal matter including: blue crabs, clams, frogs, minnows, rodents, small birds, and berries.
Distribution: Whooping cranes migrate more than 2,400 miles a year. They summer and nest in poorly drained wetlands in Canada's Wood Buffalo National Park and migrate in winter to Texas' salt flats and marshes, in and around Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.
Status: Endangered. In the mid-1800s, 1,400 whooping cranes migrated across North America. By the late 1930s, the Aransas population was down to just 18 birds. As a result of well-coordinated efforts to protect habitat and the birds themselves, 518 whooping cranes existed in the wild and in captivity at the end of 2006. The chicks are similar to parents but cinnamon-toned.
Resources: Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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