Sandhill Crane (Grus Canadensis)
Standing over 4 feet tall with a wingspan of more than 6 feet, the Sandhill Crane is one of the largest birds found in Tennessee and the most abundant crane in the world. They range widely in scattered populations across North America extending into Cuba and far northeastern Siberia. Most breeding populations are migratory with non-migratory populations only found in Mississippi and Florida. Over the last sixty years, this species has made a remarkable comeback after being nearly wiped out in the 1800’s due to breeding habitat loss and over hunting. Virtually every individual in the smaller eastern population of Sandhill Cranes will pass over or spend the winter at the confluence of the Tennessee and Hiwassee Rivers in southeastern Tennessee. Thousands of these birds can be seen from November through February from the observation platform at the TN Wildlife Resources Hiwassee Refuge in Birchwood, TN, Meigs County.
This tall, long legged bird is mostly gray, with a large tuft of feathers on its rump. The top of the crane’s head is red (which is actually skin!) and the cheek is bright white. Males and females look alike, with males being larger. Young birds are gray and brown with a feathered head.
One of the most distinctive characteristics of the Sandhill Crane is its voice, which can be heard across Tennessee as this majestic bird passes overhead during migration, or when stopping in the state to spend the winter. Described as trumpeting, or bugling, or a resonating, wooden rattle, the call of the Sandhill Crane will carry more than a mile. Mated pairs of cranes engage in “unison calling,” where the cranes stand close together and call in a synchronized duet. Like all cranes, Sandhill Cranes engage in dancing, which is generally believed to be a normal part of pair bonding, motor development and courtship.
Breeding habitat consists of a variety of open freshwater wetlands, and an array of marshes, open grasslands, and cultivated lands are used during migration and in the winter.
Sandhill Cranes do not successfully breed until the birds are 5 to 7 years old, and have one of the lowest reproductive rates of any bird in North America. Females usually lay two eggs, but only one in three nests produce a chick that survives to migrate in the fall. Incubation of the egg lasts about a month and is a duty performed by both the male and female bird. Sandhill Cranes generally mate for life.
Sandhill Cranes are omnivorous, eating seeds, berries, cultivated grains, insects, and small mammals from the surface of the ground as well as probing into soil and mud. They weigh between 10 and 14 pounds.
Fun Facts:
• Sandhill Cranes only started wintering in Tennessee in the 1990s.
• The only historical observation of Sandhill Cranes during the winter in Tennessee is from an observation reported by John James Audubon in November 1820 of a large flocks of cranes in the vicinity of the Shelby/Tipton County line.
• There are 6 subspecies of Sandhill Cranes in North America. It is the Greater Sandhill Crane, Grus canadensis tabida that migrates through and winters in Tennessee.
• The oldest known Sandhill Crane was 36 years 7 months old.
• A Miocene crane fossil, thought to be about ten million years old, was found in Nebraska and is structurally identical to the modern Sandhill crane, making it the oldest known bird species still surviving!
• Though a game species in some western states, it is not legal to shoot any species of crane in Tennessee.
For more information:
TWRA Watchable Wildlife
