Line. The northern Hmit is the east-west line (lat. 

 30° 35'), about 6.4 km north of Vancleave. The 

 southern limit is Simmons Bayou and Graveline 

 Bay. Eleven nesting areas were located within 

 those limits during 1965 through 1978. It is not 

 known where unpaired birds go when paired 

 adults are nesting. 



Although this subspecies leaves its breeding 

 rjinge to feed and roost, it probably does not mi- 

 grate far. One individual was seen as far as 1 1 miles 

 from the nesting area. However, some individuals 

 of other populations of sandhill cranes may win- 

 ter within the range of the Mississippi birds, as 

 evidenced by the fact that two cranes found dead 

 in 1974 within the range of G. c. pulla neither 

 clearly fit the original description of that subspe- 

 cies nor matched the specimens of cranes reared 

 from eggs taken in Mississippi (Aldrichm Recovery 

 Team for the Mississippi Sandhill Crane 1976). 

 Also, migrant sandhill cranes have been found 

 wintering at Gulf Shores in Baldwin County, 

 Alabama, about 80 km from the range of the Mis- 

 sissippi subspecies (Hamilton 1971; James 1972). 



RANGE MAP 



Breeding range (from Valentine and Noble 

 1970:763; Recovery Team for the Mississippi 

 Sandhill Crane 1976) is shown on the following 

 map. Hatched areas are recent (1965-70) nesting 

 grounds. Numbers indicate active nests found. 



STATES/COUNTIES 



Mississippi: Jackson. 



HABITAT 



Nesting habitat was described by Walkinshaw 

 (1949), Valentine (1963) and Valentine and Noble 

 (1970) as wet areas in semiopen pine flats. It 

 would appear that, although savanna-like in as- 

 pect, breeding areas have more trees than is usually 

 the case wdth sandhill cranes of other subspecies 

 (Walkinshaw 1949, 1960, 1973). However, the 

 area immediately surrounding the nest is fairly 

 open. In the larger savannas, there are scattered 

 long-leaf pines [Pinus palustris), slash pine (Pinus 

 elliottii), baldcypress (Taxodium distichum), and 

 shrubs, but the view is quite open. Grassland open- 

 ings in the swamps, forests and pine plantations 

 used for nesting may be less than 0.4 hectares in 

 area. Of 55 nests, 24 (44%) were in open savannas; 



24 (44%), in swamp edges and openings; 4 (7%), 

 in pine plantations; and 3 (5%), along pine forest 

 edges (Valentine and Noble 1970; Valentine in 

 Recovery Team for the Mississippi Sandhill Crane 

 1976). 



Habitat in the winter roost in the Pascagoula 

 River marsh is mainly sawgrass [Cladium) with 

 minor components of other marsh plants. The 

 creek and bayou banks are lined with baldcypress 

 and several brush species. The roost marsh is fresh 

 to slightly brackish, but fairly salty water may 

 run up the bayous during droughts and high tides 

 (Recovery Team for the Mississippi Sandhill Crane 

 1976). 



Factors in the natural environment that can 

 cause mortality are severe storms with flooding, 

 droughts, and fires. Despite some losses of nests 

 from fire, it is essential to the ecology of cranes 

 because it checks encroachment of woody vegeta- 

 tion on open savannas (Recovery Team for the 

 Mississippi Sandhill Crane 1976; Aldrich pers. 

 comm.). 



The most serious threat to the success of crane 

 breeding is probably habitat destruction through 

 the current timber management practices, drain- 

 ing marshes and planting pine (Valentine and 

 Noble 1970). 



FOOD AND FORAGING BEHAVIOR 



During the summer, cranes feed on natural 

 foods found in swamps, savannas, and open forest 

 lands. Animal foods include adult and larval in- 

 sects, earthworms, crayfish, frogs, and small 

 rodents. Plant foods are roots, tubers, seeds, nuts, 

 fruits and leafy parts. During the fall, winter, and 

 early spring, most cranes feed on waste grain and 

 invertebrates in small com fields and pastures 

 several kilometers north of the breeding range. 

 Such farms are scarce in that area. There have 

 been a few complaints of crane depredations on 

 com fields, but most farmers welcome the cranes 

 (Recovery Team for the Mississippi Sandhill 

 Crane 1976). In winter and spring, they also feed 

 on freshly sprouted grass on burned open pine 

 flats (Mcllhenny 1938). 



NESTING OR BEDDING 



Nests are buUt in savannas, sparsely forested 

 areas, or swamp openings that hold shallow water 

 or may be dry. Nests placed on ground in open 



