Sandhill Crane

The Sandhill Crane (Antigone canadensis) is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to a habitat like that at the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on the American Great Plains. This is the most important stopover area for the nominotypical subspecies, the lesser sandhill crane (A. c. canadensis), with up to 450,000 of these birds migrating through annually.

Adults are generally gray; however, when breeding, their plumage is frequently heavily soiled and tattered, especially in migratory groups, and appears almost ochre. With a range of 2.7 to 6.7 kg across the subspecies, the average weight of the larger males is 4.57 kg, whilst the average weight of the females is 4.02 kg. Sandhill cranes have a long, black, pointed beak, white cheeks, and red foreheads. Their long, dark legs trail behind them as they fly, and their long necks maintain a straight posture. Reddish-brown upperparts and gray underparts are characteristics of young birds. Both sexes have similar physical characteristics.