Sunday 19 May
Whooping crane (Grus americana)

What’s the World’s Favourite Species?
Find out here.Whooping crane fact file
- Description
- Biology
- Range
- Habitat
- Status
- Threats
- Conservation
- Find out more
- Glossary
- References
- Print factsheet
Whooping crane description
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class | Aves |
| Order | Gruiformes |
| Family | Gruidae |
| Genus | Grus (1) |
Whooping cranes represent one of the best-known conservation stories in North America and these elegant birds have captured public imagination. Whooping cranes have almost entirely white plumage, with the exception of red and black markings on the face and black tips to the wings, which are only visible when out-stretched (5). Juveniles are a reddish-cinnamon colour, becoming mottled over time until the full snow-white feathers are achieved by the end of their second summer (6). These cranes are the tallest birds in North America, and males may reach up to 1.5 metres in height (5). When flying, the neck is stretched out in front and the thin, black legs trail behind (5).
- Spanish
- Grulla Americana, Grulla Gritona, Grulla Trompetera.
- Size
- Length: 132 cm (2)
Whooping crane biology
Whooping cranes are monogamous and generally mate for life, once they have reached sexual maturity at three to five years of age (6). These birds undertake a spectacular migration of over 4,000 kilometres from summer nesting grounds in the north, to winter feeding grounds in the south (5). As the days get longer and spring approaches, the flock on the winter site becomes restless; dancing, calling and flying before family groups and pairs finally begin the journey north (6). Birds arrive at the breeding area in April and pairs return to the same nesting territory over consecutive years. Generally a clutch of two eggs is laid although only one chick is usually reared to maturity (5). Both parents take part in incubating and rearing the chick, which hatches after roughly one month (5). In September, the first individuals leave for the return migration south as the cold begins to set in (5).
These birds are omnivorous, feeding on a range of wetland species. Preferred winter foods include blue crabs and clams, whilst in the summer aquatic invertebrates, small fish, frogs and berries may be consumed (6). During migration the birds primary source of food is waste grain in agricultural fields (5).
TopWhooping crane range
Previously, whooping cranes were found over much of North America, from the Arctic coast in the north to central Mexico, and from Utah in the west to New Jersey and Florida (6). By the mid-20th Century however, the migratory population had declined to just 16 individuals and the non-migratory population in Louisiana had disappeared completely (7). Following a massive conservation effort, a self-sustaining population exists today, breeding in Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada and spending the winter in the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge on the Texas Gulf Coast (8). A non-migratory population has also been introduced to Kissimmee Prairie in Florida (6) and a migratory population is currently being established that will summer in Wisconsin and winter in Florida (9).
TopWhooping crane habitat
The main population of whooping cranes is migratory; the summer nesting grounds are poorly drained wetlands, whilst the population overwinters in salt marshes in the south (5) (6).
TopWhooping crane status
The whooping crane is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List (1). Listed on Appendix I of CITES (3), and Appendix II of the Convention on Migratory Species (CMS or Bonn Convention) (4).
TopWhooping crane threats
The original decline in whooping crane numbers followed the drainage and clearing of wetlands, together with other human disturbances in the breeding areas and migration routes (10). Shooting for food by early settlers and specimen collection for museums and egg collectors wreaked havoc on the remaining population. Today, cranes remain at risk from human development (10); collisions with power-lines are now a serious cause of mortality (6). Moreover, the single population is at risk from any chance event and conservationists are particularly fearful of a chemical spill in the Gulf of Mexico that would destroy the wintering grounds in Texas (6).
TopWhooping crane conservation
The whooping crane has been the subject of an enormous, broad-based conservation effort since the mid-20th Century, involving the United States and Canadian Wildlife Services, together with other organizations such as the Patuxent Wildlife Research Center and the International Crane Foundation (7). The multi-faceted approach has involved the protection of important habitats, the monitoring of populations and a captive breeding program. The establishment of an additional migratory population was attempted in Idaho but has not proven successful (10). However, greater progress has been achieved with the setting up of a non-migratory population in Florida, which now numbers 86 individuals (11). Another attempt at establishing a migratory population was begun in 2001, with birds being taught a migration route from Wisconsin to Florida behind ultra-light aircraft (9). The main captive populations exist at Patuxent Wildlife Research Centre, the International Crane Foundation and Calgary Zoo and have been used in these reintroduction attempts (10). These efforts have increased the wild population of these elegant birds from just 21 in the 1940s to about 300 today, a truly fantastic achievement (11).
Find out more
More information on the whooping crane and its conservation:
-
BirdLife International - Whooping crane:
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=2796 -
International Crane Foundation - Whooping crane conservation:
https://www.savingcranes.org/whooping-crane-conservation.html -
Hinterland Who’s Who - Canadian Wildlife Service:
http://www.hww.ca/en/species/birds/whooping-crane.html -
The Whooping Crane Conservation Association:
http://whoopingcrane.com/ -
The Cranes Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: Whooping Crane:
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/cranes/grusamer.htm
Authentication
Authenticated (04/12/03) by Brian Johns. Whooping Crane Coordinator, Canadian Wildlife Service.
http://www.pnr-rpn.ec.gc.ca/nature/endspecies/whooping/index.en.html
Glossary
- Monogamous
- Having only one mate during a breeding season, or throughout the breeding life of a pair.
- Omnivorous
- Feeding on both plants and animals.
- Territory
- Area occupied and defended by an animal, a pair of animals or a colony.
References
-
IUCN Red List (April, 2008)
http://www.iucnredlist.org -
BirdLife International - Whooping crane (April, 2003)
http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/speciesfactsheet.php?id=2796 -
CITES (April, 2003)
http://www.cites.org -
Global Register of Migratory Species (April, 2008)
http://www.groms.de/ -
Hinterland Who’s Who - Canadian Wildlife Service (November, 2003)
http://www.hww.ca/en/species/birds/whooping-crane.html - Travsky, A. and Beauvais, G.P. (2004) Species Assessment for the Whooping Crane (Grus Americana) in Wyoming. Bureau of Land Management, Wyoming, USA.
-
International Crane Foundation - Whooping crane (April, 2008)
http://www.savingcranes.org/species/whooping.cfm -
Texas Parks and Wildlife (April, 2008)
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/huntwild/wild/species/whooper/ -
Whooping Crane Eastern Partnership (November, 2003)
http://www.bringbackthecranes.org/index.html -
The Cranes Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan: Whooping Crane (April, 2008)
http://www.npwrc.usgs.gov/resource/birds/cranes/grusamer.htm -
Whooping Crane Conservation Association (April, 2003)
http://whoopingcrane.com/
More »Related species
This species is featured in:
This species is featured in the Wisconsin's Northwoods eco-region
This species is featured in:
This species is affected by global climate
change. To learn about climate change
and the species that are affected,
visit our climate change pages.
Close
Image credit
© Gerrit Vyn / naturepl.com
Nature Picture Library
5a Great George Street
Bristol
BS1 5RR
United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 117 911 4675
Fax: +44 (0) 117 911 4699
info@naturepl.com
http://www.naturepl.com
Close
Link to this photo
Embed this ARKive thumbnail link by copying and pasting the code below.
Terms of Use - The displayed thumbnail may be used as a link from your website to ARKive's online content for private, scientific, conservation or educational purposes only. It may NOT be used within Apps.
Read more about
Close
MyARKive
MyARKive offers the scrapbook feature to signed-up members, allowing you to organize your favourite ARKive images and videos and share them with friends.
Close
Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials
Copyright in this website and materials contained on this website (Material) belongs to Wildscreen or its licensors.
Visitors to this website (End Users) are entitled to:
- view the contents of, and Material on, the website;
- download and retain copies of the Material on their personal systems in digital form in low resolution for their own personal use;
- teachers, lecturers and students may incorporate the Material in their educational material (including, but not limited to, their lesson plans, presentations, worksheets and projects) in hard copy and digital format for use within a registered educational establishment, provided that the integrity of the Material is maintained and that copyright ownership and authorship is appropriately acknowledged by the End User.
End Users shall not copy or otherwise extract, alter or manipulate Material other than as permitted in these Terms and Conditions of Use of Materials.
Additional use of flagged material
Green flagged material 
Certain Material on this website (Licence 4 Material) displays a green flag next to the Material and is available for not-for-profit conservation or educational use. This material may be used by End Users, who are individuals or organisations that are in our opinion not-for-profit, for their not-for-profit conservation or not-for-profit educational purposes. Low resolution, watermarked images may be copied from this website by such End Users for such purposes. If you require high resolution or non-watermarked versions of the Material, please contact Wildscreen with details of your proposed use.
Creative commons material
Certain Material on this website has been licensed to Wildscreen under a Creative Commons Licence. These images are clearly marked with the Creative Commons buttons and may be used by End Users only in the way allowed by the specific Creative Commons Licence under which they have been submitted. Please see http://creativecommons.org for details.
Any other use
Please contact the copyright owners directly (copyright and contact details are shown for each media item) to negotiate terms and conditions for any use of Material other than those expressly permitted above. Please note that many of the contributors to ARKive are commercial operators and may request a fee for such use.
Save as permitted above, no person or organisation is permitted to incorporate any copyright material from this website into any other work or publication in any format (this includes but is not limited to: websites, Apps, CDs, DVDs, intranets, extranets, signage, digital communications or on printed materials for external or other distribution). Use of the Material for promotional, administrative or for-profit purposes is not permitted.
Close
Listen to the Whooping crane
Whooping crane recordings by George W. Archibald
© Cornell Lab of Ornithology
Macaulay Library
Cornell Lab of Ornithology
159 Sapsucker Woods Road
Ithaca
New York 14850
United States of America
Tel: +1 (607) 254-2404
Fax: +1 (607) 254-2439
Email: macaulaylibrary@cornell.edu
Website: www.birds.cornell.edu/MacaulayLibrary















