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Whooping Crane

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Birds

                 iWhooping Cranes

                             Conservation status

   Endangered (EN)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Aves
   Order:   Gruiformes
   Family:  Gruidae
   Genus:   Grus
   Species: G. americana

                                Binomial name

   Grus americana
   Linnaeus, 1758

   The Whooping Crane (Grus americana) is a very large crane. It is the
   tallest North American bird and the only crane species found solely in
   North America.

   Adults are white; they have a red crown and a long, dark, pointed bill.
   They have long dark legs which trail behind in flight and a long neck
   that is kept straight in flight. Black wing tips can be seen in flight.
   Immature birds are pale brown.

   Their breeding habitat is muskeg; the only known nesting location is
   Wood Buffalo National Park in Canada and the surrounding area. They
   nest on the ground, usually on a raised area in a marsh. The female
   lays 1 to 3 eggs. Both parents feed the young. Usually no more than one
   young bird survives in a season.

   The only known wintering location for these birds is Aransas National
   Wildlife Refuge in Texas which was created to preserve their wintering
   grounds.

   These birds forage while walking in shallow water or in fields,
   sometimes probing with their bills. They are omnivorous, eating
   insects, aquatic plants and animals, crustaceans, seeds, and berries.

   This species' name comes from its whooping call. The Whooping Crane is
   endangered mainly as a result of habitat loss. At one time, the range
   for these birds extended throughout midwestern North America. In 1941,
   the wild population consisted of 21 birds. Since then, the population
   has increased somewhat, largely due to conservation efforts. Recent
   estimates suggest that there are about 336 Whooping Cranes living in
   the wild, and another 135 living in captivity.

   Attempts have been made to establish other breeding populations in the
   wild. One project involved cross-fostering with Sandhill Cranes. The
   Whooping Cranes failed to mate and reproduce; the project was
   suspended. A second involved the establishment of a non-migratory
   population near Kissimmee, Florida. This population currently numbers
   about 58 birds; while problems with high mortality and lack of
   reproduction are addressed no further birds will be added to the
   population.

   A third attempt has involved the reintroduction of the Whooping Crane
   to a new flyway established east of the Mississippi river. This project
   uses isolation rearing of young Whooping Cranes and trains them to
   follow ultralight aircraft. These birds are costume reared from
   hatching, taught to follow an ultralight aircraft, fledged over their
   future breeding territory in Wisconsin, and led by ultralight on their
   first migration from Wisconsin to Florida; the birds learn the
   migratory route and then return, on their own, the following spring.
   This reintroduction began in fall 2001 and has added birds to the
   population in each subsequent year. As of April 2006, there are 64
   surviving Whooping Cranes in the Eastern Migratory Population (EMP),
   including 19 yearlings lead by ultralight aircraft in fall, 2005 and 4
   yearlings released in Wisconsin and allowed to migrate on their own
   (Direct Autumn Release (DAR)). Fourteen of these birds have formed
   seven pairs; two of the pairs nested and produced eggs in spring 2005.
   The eggs were lost due to parental inexperience. Thus far in spring
   2006 some of the same pairs have again nested and are incubating eggs.
   Two Whooping Crane chicks were hatched on June 22, 2006. Their parents
   are both birds that were hatched and led by ultralight on their first
   migration in 2002. At just 4 years old these are young parents. The
   chicks are the first Whooping Cranes hatched in the wild, of migrating
   parents east of the Mississippi, in over 100 years.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whooping_Crane"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
