The Siberian Crane is only one of 15 species of crane found throughout the world.
Although all crane species share similar characteristics, such as adaptations for living in wetland and grassland ecosystems, each species is unique in their appearance, range and relationship with the people that share their habitats.

To learn about a specific crane species, select and click the species name listed below:

CRANE IQ
Do you know where cranes live or what they like to eat?
Do you know how tall cranes are or why many cranes have a red patch on their heads?
Do you know how many eggs a crane lays, or what a young crane is called?
Do you know how many crane species are threatened by extinction?
Click on the image below to know your Crane IQ. Come on!

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HOW TO GET INVOLVED
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CLASSROOM RESOURCES

Attention teachers! ICF’s Education Department offers a variety of programs to introduce cranes into your classroom. For more information, visit the educator section of ICF’s website (http://www.savingcranes.org/teachers/teachers/index.cfm) or click on the following links for details on specific programs.
Activity Packet	Adopt-a-Crane Program	Children’s International Art Exchange

PHOTO GALLERY
Are you looking for an image of a crane for a school presentation or report? Visit ICF’s digital Photo Gallery(http://www.savingcranes.org/photo/index.cfm) to download free low resolution images of the world’s 15 species of crane.
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Are you still curious about cranes?
If you would like more information about cranes or have other questions, email

cranes@brooks.nog.cn
We look forward to hearing from you!

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Black-necked crane
Fun fact: During seasonal migrations some Black-necked Cranes fly over the HimalayanMountains and may fly as high as 20,000 feet (or almost four miles above the Earth’s surface!)
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Range: western China/Bhutan/India
Habitat: wetlands/grasslands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Loss of wetlands for agricultural land and tree plantations, along with increased damming of rivers that supply water to wetland areas threaten the cranes’ nesting areas.

Listen to the Sounds of Black-necked Crane go!
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Blue Crane
Fun fact: The Blue Crane can make itself look like a cobra when it is threatened by raising the feathers on the side of its head.
Conservation status: Critically Endangered
Range: southern Africa
Habitat: grasslands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Loss of grasslands for tree plantations and agricultural land threatens the cranes’ nesting and feeding areas.
Poisoning: Blue Cranes are vulnerable to both accidental and intentional poisoning in agricultural fields where they feed.
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Brolga
Fun fact: Brolgas often drink salt water and have a gland in the corner of their eyes that helps to remove extra salt from their bodies.
Conservation status: Lower Risk (least concern)
Range: northern and eastern Australia
Habitat: wetlands/grasslands
Threats:
Habitat loss: loss of wetlands for agricultural land and sedimentation of coastal wetlands threaten the cranes’ nesting and feeding areas.
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Demoiselle Crane
Fun fact: Demoiselle Cranes are the smallest of all of the crane species, weighing an average of only five pounds.
Conservation status: Lower Risk (least concern)
Range: eastern Europe through central Asia/winter in Africa, Pakistan and India
Habitat: grasslands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Loss of grasslands for agricultural land threatens the cranes’ nesting and feeding areas.
Hunting: Demoiselle Cranes are threatened by over hunting and capture to supply pets for private collections.
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Eurasian Crane
Fun fact: Studies with Eurasian Cranes suggest that cranes have individual “voiceprints,” which can be used to identify cranes much as fingerprints are used to identify people.
Conservation status: Lower Risk (least concern)
Range: northern and eastern Europe through central Asia
Habitat: wetlands/grasslands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Loss of wetlands and grasslands for agricultural land and urban and industrial growth threaten the cranes’ nesting and feeding areas.

Listen to the Sounds of Eurasian Crane go!
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Grey Crowned Crane
Fun fact: The Grey Crowned Crane and its cousin the Black Crowned Crane are the only two species of crane that can perch in trees.
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Range: eastern and southern Africa
Habitat: grasslands/wetlands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Loss of wetlands for agricultural land and overgrazing of vegetation in nesting areas are threats to these cranes.
Wild animal trade: Both chicks and adults are captured in the wild and sold locally as pets or to private collectors and zoos in Asia and Europe.
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Hooded Crane
Fun fact: In Japan, the Hooded Crane is highly valued and thousands of children participate each year in an annual survey of the population at their wintering areas in southern Japan.
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Range: eastern Asia/Russia
Habitat: wetlands/grasslands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Drainage of wetlands, along with logging in forests surrounding breeding areas in eastern Russia and China, and development along migratory routes and wintering areas threaten the cranes’ habitat.
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Red-crowned Crane
Fun fact: Red-crowned Cranes are sacred in many Asian countries, where they are traditionally viewed as a symbol of good luck, long life and love.
Conservation status: Endangered
Range: eastern Asia/Russia
Habitat: wetlands/grasslands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Loss of wetlands for agricultural land and industrial use threaten the cranes’ nesting and feeding areas throughout their range.

Listen to the Sounds of Red-crowned Crane go!
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Sandhill Crane
Fun fact: There are six different types, or subspecies, of Sandhill Cranes in North America.One subspecies, the lesser Sandhill Crane, has the longest migration of any crane species, traveling over 7,000 miles between their nesting areas in eastern Siberia and wintering areas in northern Mexico.
Conservation status: Lower Risk (least concern)
Range: North America/eastern Russia
Habitat: wetlands/grasslands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Loss of wetlands and grasslands for agricultural land and other urban and industrial development projects threaten the cranes’ habitat throughout their range.

Listen to the Sounds of Sandhill Crane go!
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Sarus Crane
Fun fact: The Sarus Crane is the world’s tallest flying bird, standing up to six feet tall with an eight foot wing span.
Conservation status: Endangered
Range: southeastern Asia/India/northern Australia
Habitat: wetlands/grasslands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Loss of wetlands for agricultural land and other development, along with increasing pollution resulting from pesticides and other contaminants threaten the cranes’ nesting and feeding areas.
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Siberian Crane
Fun fact: The Siberian Crane is the most specialized of the crane species for living in a wetland habitat, with the longest bill for finding food and slightly webbed feet to stop them from sinking too deep into mud.
Conservation status: Endangered
Range: eastern Europe and Asia
Habitat: wetlands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Several water development projects, including the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River, threaten to change flooding cycles in the PoyangLakeBasin, a critical wintering area for this species in southern China.Habitat loss also threatens the species along their migration routes throughout their range.
Hunting: The western and central flocks are threatened by unregulated hunting along the flyways used by the birds during their migration.

Listen to the Sounds of Siberian Crane go!
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Wattled Crane
Fun fact: The Wattled Crane is named after two small pouches of skin, or wattles, found on the crane’s throat.The wattles elongate when the birds are feeling aggressive and shrink when they are feeling submissive or shy.
Conservation status: Endangered
Range: south-central and southeastern Africa
Habitat: wetlands
Threats:
Habitat loss: The large wetland areas that this species depend upon are threatened by agriculture, damming of rivers, and industrial water use throughout its range.
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White-naped Crane
Fun fact: White-naped Cranes, along with Hooded Red-crowned Cranes, winter in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea.The DMZ was created at the end of the Korean War as a buffer between the two countries to help sustain peace in the region.
Conservation status: Vulnerable
Range: eastern Asia/Russia
Habitat: wetlands/grasslands
Threats:
Habitat loss: Loss of wetlands and grasslands for agricultural land and industrial use threaten these cranes’ nesting and feeding areas.
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Whooping Crane
Fun fact: The Whooping Crane is the rarest species of crane, with a population of only 400 individuals.Researchers are currently working to reintroduce Whooping Cranes into Florida and Wisconsin by teaching them to migrate with an ultralight aircraft.
Conservation status: Endangered
Range: North America
Habitat: wetlands/grasslands
Threats:
Habitat degradation: Drought and pollution threaten the species’ western population on their breeding area in central Canada and wintering area in southeastern Texas.The migratory populations are also at risk to collisions with power lines and fences along the flyways.

Listen to the Sounds of Whooping Crane go!
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For more detailed information, visit the Species Field Guide on ICF’s website (link to http://www.savingcranes.org/species/index.cfm).

Activity Packets
(http://www.savingcranes.org/teachers/teachers/resources/activity.cfm)
Visit ICF’s website to download classroom activity packets developed for grades K-12.The packets introduce students to the biology of cranes, endangered species management and conservation, wetland and grassland ecosystems, and the cultural significance of cranes around the globe.
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Adopt-a-Crane Program
(https://www.savingcranes.org/support/give/adopt/index.cfm)
Become a crane parent and support the care of ICF’s captive crane flock through this exciting program.Classes may raise money to adopt their favorite crane or one of each of the fifteen species.As part of the adoption, each class will receive an adoption certificate and a picture of their adopted crane, along with a biography of the individual bird and a species fact sheet.
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Children’s International Art Exchange
(http://www.savingcranes.org/teachers/kids/art.cfm)
Individual students or entire classes can participate in this program to show their support for conservation and share their ideas with the world!Artwork by students from the United States and throughout the world is submitted to ICF and displayed in an annual spring art show at our headquarters in Baraboo, Wisconsin.During the following school year, artwork designed by students in the United States is distributed to schools in Bhutan, China, Cuba, Russia, and Vietnam.In return, your school can sign up to host a traveling exhibit of foreign artwork.
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