Whopping Cranes
Whooping Cranes
Katie Brookhouser
4/1/2013
The Whooping Crane (Grus americana) is one of the world’s rarest birds. Its’ storied history has seen it come back from the brink of extinction due to the efforts of scientists, biologists, and government. It is the largest bird in North America and it has come to symbolize the meaning of conservation in America. Although it has come far, it is still endangered and still struggles for survival. “Even from a distance their tall, gleaming white forms are easily seen against the pale yellows of salt grass and sand” (Mcnulty 16). Whooping Cranes stand five feet tall with a wing span up to seven feet wide. “Adult cranes are white with black primary wing feathers and a black facial stripe. They have bare red skin on the crown sparsely thatched with black bristles. Their eyes and bill are yellowish. Males are slightly larger than females” (Hughes 241). Whooping Cranes, or whoopers, get their name because of their loud trumpeting call.
Whooping cranes area migratory birds found only in North America. Their preferred habitat is in “wetlands with bulrushes, cattails and sedge vegetation, such as small ponds, marshes and muskeg” (Hughes 241). Their wintering grounds include coastal bays and marshes. They are omnivores. Their diet includes mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, minnows, frogs, snakes, and occasionally berries and aquatic plants. One of their primary winter food sources is blue crabs.
It is believed that Whooping cranes have never been very abundant throughout history. The total population went from an estimated 10,000 birds to less than 1,500 birds in the 1800’s when Europeans settlers began to have a negative impact on whoopers and their habitat. By 1940 it was estimated that there were only about 15 birds remaining. This flock of cranes migrated between what is now known as Buffalo National Park in Canada and Aransas National Wildlife
Katie Brookhouser
4/1/2013
The Whooping Crane (Grus americana) is one of the world’s rarest birds. Its’ storied history has seen it come back from the brink of extinction due to the efforts of scientists, biologists, and government. It is the largest bird in North America and it has come to symbolize the meaning of conservation in America. Although it has come far, it is still endangered and still struggles for survival. “Even from a distance their tall, gleaming white forms are easily seen against the pale yellows of salt grass and sand” (Mcnulty 16). Whooping Cranes stand five feet tall with a wing span up to seven feet wide. “Adult cranes are white with black primary wing feathers and a black facial stripe. They have bare red skin on the crown sparsely thatched with black bristles. Their eyes and bill are yellowish. Males are slightly larger than females” (Hughes 241). Whooping Cranes, or whoopers, get their name because of their loud trumpeting call.
Whooping cranes area migratory birds found only in North America. Their preferred habitat is in “wetlands with bulrushes, cattails and sedge vegetation, such as small ponds, marshes and muskeg” (Hughes 241). Their wintering grounds include coastal bays and marshes. They are omnivores. Their diet includes mollusks, crustaceans, aquatic insects, minnows, frogs, snakes, and occasionally berries and aquatic plants. One of their primary winter food sources is blue crabs.
It is believed that Whooping cranes have never been very abundant throughout history. The total population went from an estimated 10,000 birds to less than 1,500 birds in the 1800’s when Europeans settlers began to have a negative impact on whoopers and their habitat. By 1940 it was estimated that there were only about 15 birds remaining. This flock of cranes migrated between what is now known as Buffalo National Park in Canada and Aransas National Wildlife