Bird GuideCranesCommon Crane

Common Crane

Common Crane
Grus grus
At a Glance Range & Identification Back to Top

At a Glance

This crane is relatively common in parts of Eurasia, but strictly an accidental visitor to North America. Most records have been of birds in migrating flocks of Sandhill Cranes on the Great Plains; these are likely individuals that joined flocks of Sandhills in eastern Siberia, and then traveled with them back across the Bering Strait and south to wintering areas on this continent.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from by Kenn Kaufman漏 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Long-legged Waders
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers
Behavior
Direct Flight, Flap/Glide

Range & Identification

Description

43" (115 cm). Large and mostly gray. Similar to Sandhill Crane but head and neck mostly black, with a wide white face stripe.
Size
About the size of a Heron
Wing Shape
Fingered, Long
Tail Shape
Short

Songs and Calls

Loud, trumpeting call