Sandhill Crane

Sandhill cranes are one of only two crane species native to North America — tall, gray, long-necked birds with a bright red crown patch, sharing the continent with the endangered whooping crane, which is white with black wingtips instead. Six subspecies make up the species: three migratory forms (greater, lesser, and Canadian) that breed across the northern U.S., Canada, and eastern Siberia before wintering in the southern U.S. and northern Mexico, and three smaller, non-migratory populations — Florida, Mississippi, and Cuban — the latter two federally listed as endangered. Sandhills forage in wetlands and agricultural fields for seeds, grain, and small animals, and carry a distinctive, far-carrying rattling call that is hard to mistake for anything else.