Common Crane
Common Crane
Grus grus
At a Glance
The Common Crane is relatively common in parts of Eurasia, but strictly an accidental visitor to North America. Most records have been of birds in migrating flocks of Sandhill Cranes on the Great Plains; these are likely individuals that joined flocks of Sandhills in eastern Siberia, and then traveled with them back across the Bering Strait and south to wintering areas on this continent.
All bird guide text and rangemaps adapted from Lives of North American Birds by Kenn Kaufman© 1996, used by permission of Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Category
Cranes, Long-legged Waders
IUCN Status
Least Concern
Habitat
Fields, Meadows, and Grasslands, Freshwater Wetlands, Lakes, Ponds, and Rivers
Region
Plains, Southwest, Texas
Behavior
Direct Flight, Flap/Glide
Range & Identification
Description
Sexes similar; male slightly larger — Length: 3 ft 5 in-3 ft 11 in (1-1.2 m); wingspan: 5 ft 11 in-7 ft 7 in (1.8-2.3 m); weight: 7 lb 11 oz-14 lb 5 oz (3.5-6.5 kg). The Common Crane is large and mostly gray. Similar to a Sandhill Crane but head and neck mostly black, with a wide white face stripe.
Size
About the size of a Heron
Color
Black, Gray, Red, White
Wing Shape
Fingered, Long
Tail Shape
Short
Songs and Calls
Loud, trumpeting call
Call Pattern
Flat
Call Type
Croak/Quack, Honk, Scream
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