Animalia Life

Grus canadensis
SUBFAMILY
Gruinae
TAXONOMY
Ardea canadensis Linnaeus, 1758, Hudson Bay, Canada. Six subspecies.
OTHER COMMON NAMES
English: Little brown crane, Canadian crane; French: Grue du Canada; German: Kanadakranich; Spanish: Grulla Canadiense.
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Height up to 47.2 in (120 cm); wingspan 63–82.6 in (160–210 cm); weight 7.3–12 lb (3.3–5.4 kg). Gray body, neck, and head with bare red forecrown.
DISTRIBUTION
Across North America from Quebec west to British Columbia and north to Alaska and eastern Siberia. Additional populations in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Maine, and the Northwest (U.S.). Winter in Florida, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California, and Mexico. Nonmigratory subspecies found in Florida, Mississippi, and Cuba.
HABITAT
Wetland areas. May use savannas and agricultural fields in wintering areas.
BEHAVIOR
Three subspecies are migratory; three are nonmigratory.
FEEDING ECOLOGY AND DIET
Omnivorous. Diet includes grains, berries, insects, and rodents.
REPRODUCTIVE BIOLOGY
Usually lays 2 eggs, incubated for 29–32 days. Chicks fledge at 50–90 days.
CONSERVATION STATUS
Four subspecies Not threatened, though listed on CITES Appendix II. Two subspecies, the Mississippi and the Cuban sandhill, are Threatened.
SIGNIFICANCE TO HUMANS
The most abundant of all cranes, it has been a part of Native American culture for over 1,000 years.

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