Sandhill Crane Portrait.
by Chris Kusik
Title
Sandhill Crane Portrait.
Artist
Chris Kusik
Medium
Photograph - Digital
Description
I came upon this lovely fellow strolling the pine flatwoods at Split Oak Park in Orange County. Hearing their calls and watching them fly overhead always brings on a smile.The Sandhill Crane has a red forehead, white cheeks and a long dark pointed bill. Its long dark legs trail behind in flight, and the long neck is kept straight in flight. Immature birds have reddish brown upperparts and gray under parts.This crane frequently gives a loud trumpeting call that suggests a French-style "r" rolled in the throat, and they can be heard from a long distance. Mated pairs of cranes engage in "unison calling." The cranes stand close together, calling in a synchronized and complex duet. The female makes two calls for every single call of the male.The Sandhill Crane's large wingspan, typically 5 to 7 feet, makes this a very skilled soaring bird similar in style to hawks and eagles. Utilizing thermals to obtain lift, they can stay aloft for many hours, requiring only occasional flapping of their wings and consequently expending little energy. With migratory flocks containing hundreds of birds, they can create clear outlines of the normally invisible rising columns of air (thermals) that they ride.The oldest unequivocal Sandhill Crane fossil is 2.5 million years old, over one and a half times older than the earliest remains of most living species of birds.
Uploaded
July 27th, 2013
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Viewed 590 Times - Last Visitor from New York, NY on 03/12/2024 at 10:01 AM
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