CRANES 
In spring and fall lines of slate-blue sandhill cranes could once be seen 
against the sky, as these long-legged, long-necked birds took their slow, 
ponderous flight to and from their breeding grounds. In the air they utter 
the hoarse croaks which have gained them the surname of “whooping 
cranes.” The cranes are the longest of American wading birds, attain¬ 
ing a length of as much as four feet from the tip of their toes to the sparse 
black hairs of their heads. When migrating they follow a leader in perfect 
Indian file, but in the nesting season lone birds are sometimes seen soaring 
and circling about at a great height. In former years sandhill cranes were 
distributed throughout almost all of North America. Today they breed chiefly 
in Florida and Louisiana. 
Sandhill cranes breed in March, when they assemble in an open spot 
to hold their ceremonial dances. Males and females hop, skip and jump 
about one another, bowing and prancing, croaking and calling. In Florida 
the nest of grass and weeds is placed on the edge of a grassy pond or is 
made into a floating island. In the western United States it may be located 
in a dry prairie. Exotic species such as the demoiselle, crowned and Stanley 
cranes, nest on the ground. 
The crane’s eggs are two to four in number. The embryo birds have 
soft bills, but they are equipped with a special egg tooth with which to 
break through their shell. The young require only a few weeks to become 
such rapid runners that they can be caught only with the greatest difficulty. 
The chicks are considered very good eating, and many are shot. They also 
make excellent pets and learn to defend themselves against dogs and cats. 
Sandhill cranes search for food singly. Their diet is well-balanced, 
including animal, vegetable and mineral food, most of which is swallowed 
whole. The vegetable element consists mainly of com, potatoes and sweet 
potatoes; the animal, of fishes, frogs, snakes, shell-fish, field mice and other 
small mammals usually swallowed whole; the mineral side is made up of 
stones and other hard objects swallowed by the bird along with its food, 
but then regurgitated with the indigestible remainder of its diet. 
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