STATUS:
Endangered
COLOR:
Snow-white body feathers with jet-black wingtips and red and black heads.
HABITAT:
Wetlands
RANGE:
Three migration paths between northern nesting grounds to southern wintering habitat: from northern Canada to the Texas coast, from Idaho to central New Mexico, and from Wisconsin to Florida.
FOOD:
Scavenge dead ducks, marsh birds or muskrats and consume insects, small
fish, invertebrates and small mammals like mice.
BEHAVIOR:
Monogamous, usually fly only during daylight, engage in calling and
a courtship dance before mating.
OFFSPRING:
Mating season occurs in late April through mid-May. Cranes will build
a nest and usually lay two eggs, which the parents incubate for about
a month. Usually, only one chick survives and is able to swim immediately.
Parents must teach the chick how to fly, eat and drink.
THREATS:
Habitat loss, collisions with power lines during migration and loss
of natural fear of humans due to human contact in the wild.
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