Crane

Crane, long-necked, long-legged bird of the family Gruidae. Its plumage is generally white or gray; some species have patches of colored skin around the head. The windpipe is even longer than the neck because it is coiled up in the breast. This long windpipe is responsible for the crane's remarkable trumpeting calls. There are 14 species spread around the world, most of them now rare. Their courtship includes graceful dances in which the birds leap into the air and drift down on outstretched wings. The two cranes of North America are the sandhill crane, common in the prairies, and the whooping crane, which, in 1967, numbered only 48 birds in one flock. Although strictly protected, the whooping cranes have a long, vulnerable migration route from Canada to Texas.