Thursday, February 19, 2009

Greater Sandhill Cranes—Are We Dancing?

I’m leaving the backyard for a bit to muse about sandhill cranes and their enchanting behavior, a species that captured my heart about ten years ago. But I'm not alone. People have watched them for centuries and used their behavior to symbolize good health, long life, peace and happiness.
And this reverence is well-earned. Like many animal and bird species, cranes mate for life, are territorial and protective of their families, and show emotion, including grief when a mate is lost. Sandhill cranes migrate in large flocks of family groups. You hear them even before you see them, that wonderful melodious call that fills the air and causes you to look up with wonder. And then you hear the tiny "peeps". The juveniles, though nearly the size of their parents, still have their chick voices until their vocal chords mature sometime near the end of their first year.
Animal behavior has always been one of my loves, second only to people behavior. So it was with great pleasure that I attended an eight-hour crane behavior workshop at Bosque del Apache National Wildlife Refuge in San Antonio, New Mexico several years ago.Sandhill cranes are peace-loving birds but it is their wonderful array of postural communication that allows them to co-exist in harmony while in wintering flocks of thousands. Though they do not require a large territory while staging, they still have territorial boundaries within the feeding area and they protect their feeding space with determination.
The crane above is not dancing. Though elegant and full of grace, he is displaying aggression. Cranes use a variety of postures and vocalizations to let intruders know they aren’t welcome.

Among the postures are the head down position below, showing the bald red patch which can be engorged with blood to intensify color and display aggression or excitement.Above you see a crane family with the male in front with head down, the juvenile in the middle and the female in the back. You will see some mud stains on the adults from painting themselves, a ritual that is of uncertain purpose but believed to be a part of courtship and an assist to camouflage while nesting.
Notice that the juvenile below still has rust feathers on his head and his wings and he has not yet developed the adult white facial marking. The rust feathers on the juvenile are more uniform in appearance than the painted mud stains on adult breeding birds.

The feather ruffling you see below serves as a mild threat called a ruffle threat--a general expression, "you better not mess with me".

And the crane below, after issuing some warning calls, is getting into some serious displays of attitude and intent to defend his feeding territory.
These behaviors are usually sufficient to cause the intruder to back off. But when retreat does not occur the dispute intensifies and dust flies.
Cranes avoid physical disputes whenever possible using calls and posturing. When disagreements escalate to the point of contact, they are settled rapidly and peace is restored. Maybe the human species could learn a few pointers from cranes.

16 comments:

  1. I really enjoyed learning about the behaviors of the cranes. I have been donating to Operation Migration for the past 2 years. These sandhill and the whooping cranes are such wonderful birds and I admire your ability to depict that grace and tenacity in your art work... Michelle

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  2. Thanks for the introduction to crane behavior - I had no idea they had so many complex postures. How do you tell the male from female in the group with the juvenile?

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  3. Another Wonderful post!! I love the cranes, and their intriguing behaviour! Perhaps we could use the cranes' behaviour as a basis for our own??
    I'm thinking that as the weather pattern changes, so does our particular interest!

    Cheers,
    Nona, in New Zealand

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  4. Vickie thanks for the info. I can see by your photos it was a spectacular sight seeing the cranes. Such beauty and grace.

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  5. Hi Michelle, thank you! I'm glad you're one of my fellow Operation Migration supporters and helping our whooping cranes.

    Hi Monika. Good question. Males and females are the same in plumage, but they can sometimes be distinguished by behavior. The male generally takes the lead in family groups and is the aggressor in territorial disputes.

    Hi Nona! Good to see you here! Behavior is always intriguing to me.

    Hi Toni. This was a very special experience, largely do to our expert interpreters from the Platte River. Not only did we see behavior as they flew from their roost, but this very different behavior while feeding.

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  6. Your photos and information about these beauties was really interesting. I would love to take a class on bird behaviors. I don't know that I've heard of any around home here, but I think I'll look into it further.

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  7. Hi Lynne, thanks. For me, learning about their habits and behaviors makes observing them all the more fun.

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  8. I think the human species could learn a lot from much of nature. I loved this post, the information, and all of the photographs. That first one, though, wow! Incredible!

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  9. Apparently we have cranes in the nearby bog but I have yet to see one after 10 years here. Lots of herons, though!

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  10. This post about crane behavior is so fascinating! I am optimistic that humans can learn strategies to communicate better and live peacefully with each other like the cranes do.

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  11. ♪ Shall we dance? (One, two, three and...) ♫
    ♫ On a bright cloud of music shall we fly? (One, two, three and...) ♪

    What a wonderful series of the Sandhills, Vickie. And yes, they definitely appear to be dancing, full of grace and charm. Although on second thought, if I saw that aggressive display coming towards me I think I'd definitely clear the dance floor...

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  12. Vickie, Love the cranes! But I really love the quote by Martha Graham at the bottom here. It is something I need to hear today. I've decided to tackle that mural on my wall that I've been thinking about for over 2 months. I consulted some of my photos and started drawing on the wall today. We'll see what happens next! Good luck with whatever you are working one right now!

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  13. Thanks, Wendy. I really like that photo too. It was a perfect moment.

    Hi, Andrea, thanks for your comment. Hope you get to see your cranes one day.

    Hey, Diane. Their behavior is fascinating. And as for us, we need a lot of optimism!

    Hi, Kyle. Thanks for the music. And yes, you don't want to be around when a crane gets mad!

    Hi Kathie. Good luck with that mural. Glad you're getting started. I love that quote, too. I have it where I can see it every day.

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  14. What wonderful photos and fascinating information on the cranes. I just read a NYT article on Operation Migration so your post gave me even more information on cranes. I didn't know much about them as they have always been a mysterious type bird to me.

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  15. This is a wonderful post!!! I rarely see cranes and when I do they are just standing around in a field. Having a peek into their behavior is terrific. I love that you know so much about them!

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  16. Vickie, We have also fallen in love with Sandhills. Here in FL we have had a pair whose territory included a small pond behind our house. You could set your clock by their arrival in the AM and PM departure. We've enjoyed watching the pair for years - however, two days ago only one showed up. They truely do mourn for their mate - this one, now alone, calls and calls for his/her mate all day. It has broken our hearts. We only hope it will find another mate and once again dance the "happy dance". Colleen

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