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THE WILSON JOURNAL OF ORNITHOLOGY . Vol 123, No. 3. September 2011 
KING, Ornithology Department, American 
Museum of Natural History. Central Park 
West at 79th Street. New York. NY 10024, 
USA: e-mail: kingbirdtours@earthlink.net 
WHOOPING CRANE: IMAGES FROM THE 
WILD. By Klaus Nigge with an introduction by 
Krista Schlyer. Texas A&M University Press, 
College Station. Texas, USA. 2010: 228 pages 
and 156 color photographs. ISBN: 978-1-60344- 
209-1. $45.00 (cloth).—This attractive coffee 
table book is a stunning photographic tribute to 
the Whooping Crane ( Grits umericanus). The 
images are generally presented one to a page with 
a lew two-page spreads. While any photograph of 
these stately and elegant birds is likely to be of 
interest, this collection of images is outstanding in 
the breadth of behaviors and actions illustrated. 
The photographs are the heart and soul of the 
book, but the book actually begins with an essay 
aptly titled •‘The Whooping Crane: An Introduc¬ 
tory Primer” by Krista Schlyer. This essay is a 
wonderful introduction to the Whooping Crane in 
the real world and in mythology. The reader 
learns about the life history of the Whooping 
Crane, and the near extinction of this stately icon. 
The background provided in this lengthy essay 
increases the readers' appreciation and under¬ 
standing of the photographs. It is hard to imagine 
a more dramatic recovery than a species which 
was erroneously declared extinct in the 1923 
Saturday Evening Post but can now be readily 
observed by the general public in the winter 
months. As easy as it is to see Whooping Cranes 
in winter, it is impossible for all but a handful of 
people to see them in their remote native breeding 
areas. 
The photographs are organized into three 
collections with separate topics in each collection. 
Each topic is briefly introduced in a paragraph but 
otherwise the photographs are presented without 
commentary. The first collection is from Aransas 
National Wildlife Refuge (NWR) in Texas, where 
the majority ot the wild population of the 
Whooping Crane winters. We see Aransas NWR’s 
tidal marshes and bays, and a few animals. The 
cranes are teeding, dancing, loafing, and sleeping 
and, in one of my favorite photos, we see a 
Whooping Crane grabbing the wing of a Black- 
bellied Whistling-Duck (Dendrocygna auturnna- 
lis) at a game feeder. 
The second collection is from Wood Buffalo 
National Park in Alberta and Northwest Terri¬ 
tories, Canada, the breeding area for the wild 
population. Klaus Nigge was granted unprece¬ 
dented access to a single pair of nesting 
Whooping Cranes within this remote park. Hi 
was allowed to set up a blind near a crane nest 
where he spent 6 days ensconced 24 hrs a day in 
the blind so as not to disturb the cranes. We see 
a pair of Whooping Cranes through his lens 
incubating two eggs, and when one egg hatches 
the pair lavish attention on the chick. .Another 
stunning series shows a Common Raven (Conus 
corax) stealing the second egg as it is hatching 
unattended by the adults. The raven carries the 
egg and hatching chick away, by carrying the 
egg by the chick's leg. The adults arc frantic 
and chase the raven, but it is too late. While 
many Whooping Cranes only raise a single 
chick, the series shows the perils of the chicks’ 
early days. 
The final collection is a return to Aransas NWR 
the next lall. The main subjects are a pair of adult 
Whoopers with two cinnamon-colored offspring. 
We see the adults defend their winter feeding 
territory from other Whooping Cranes, including 
flocks ol non-breeding birds with threat displays. 
There are more photographs of the family 
dancing, and the family at sunset in a marsh at 
Aransas. 
There are concluding brief essays, the first on 
where to see Whooping Cranes. Oddly enough, 
this essay starts with the International Crane 
Foundation in Baraboo, Wisconsin and Necedah 
NWR in Wisconsin where Whooping Cranes 
from the eastern migratory introduced population 
can be seen in spring and summer. The last site 
mentioned is Aransas NWR. where the wild 
population winters and the winter images in this 
book were taken. The popular boat trips from the 
Rockport area in search of Whooping Cranes are 
mentioned, but I think they should be the first 
opportunity discussed and not the last. The final 
essay discusses the great efforts used to photo¬ 
graph Whooping Cranes at Wood Buffalo 
National Park. We see the blind, the photogra¬ 
pher at work, and the blind in situ. In my 
imagination 1 can hear the hum of biting insects 
over the marsh. 
This is a wonderful book with factual informa¬ 
tion, excellent photography, and a chance to peek 
into the private lives of Whooping Cranes. I 
thoroughly enjoyed the book, and I would 
recommend it to all who enjoy birds or are 
