Cranes: A Natural History of a Bird in Crisis

ISBN-10: 155407343X
ISBN-13: 9781554073436
Category: Nature / Environmental Conservation & Protection
Pages: 256
Language: English
Published: 2008
Publisher: Firefly Books
Author: Janice Maryan Hughes

Description

The history, habits, life and lore of a resourceful and iconic bird.

Long in neck, leg and wing, cranes are imposing wading birds that are among the largest and tallest of the world's bird families. Cranes are found on all continents except South America and Antarctica. They are typically associated with open wetland and grassland habitats, where their bright plumage, graceful proportions and convivial nature are displayed in elaborate dancing and duet calling. Those species that breed in the northern regions of North America and Eurasia undertake long migrations each spring and fall. Cranes choose life-long mates and are devoted parents that raise their young with both tenderness and determination.

Cranes traces the history of these fascinating birds from their early origins in the Mesozoic Era to the present day. The book covers anatomy, feeding habits, mating rituals, habitats, caring for the chicks, migration and seasonal movements. A special section is devoted to cranes in myth and folklore. Species profiles are included, along with range maps and conservation status of:

Black-crowned crane
Red-crowned crane
Black-necked crane
Sandhill crane
Blue crane
Sarus crane
Brolga
Siberian crane
Demoiselle crane
Wattled crane
Eurasian crane
White-naped crane
Grey crowned crane
Whooping crane
Hooded crane.

Emphasis is given to the whooping crane as a case study of the environmental and human pressures that threaten the existence of all family members. Through the tireless efforts of many dedicated researchers and volunteers, this species is slowly being brought back from the edge of extinction. Operation Migration, the project to establish a migratory population of whooping cranes in the eastern United States, is profiled in a special chapter of Cranes.

Get the book

Other editions

Cranes
- 2006-06-01
- 36 pages
- Paperback
- First Avenue Editions
Cranes
- 2006
- 28 pages
- Paperback
- Capstone
Cranes: Their Biology, Husbandry, and Conservation
- 1996
- 308 pages
- Paperback
- Department of the Interior, National Biological Service

Similar books

Miracle Under the Oaks: The Revival of Nature in America
By William K. Stevens
This compelling story of heroism and tenacious human spirit— the first book to look at this momentous new movement—brings alive one of its most astonishing victories.
Design for Human Ecosystems: Landscape, Land Use, and Natural Resources
By John Tillman Lyle
The designer was Major John Wesley Powell , a man Any number of levels of scale might emerge in the future , whom one does not usually think of as a shaper of landscapes but for the present , all we can do is group the possible or even ...
Ecosystem Management in the United States: An Assessment of Current Experience
By Steven Lewis Yaffee
In 1991 , the Spence - Moriarty property ( 37,000 acres adjacent tə the Inberg - Roy ) was purchased . Now administering enough winter habitat , WGFD removed the thirteen miles of elk fence . WGFD sets herd - unit objectives based on ...
The Ecology and Management of Wetlands: Volume 2: Management, Use and Value of Wetlands
By Donal D. Hook
Volume 2: Management, Use and Value of Wetlands Donal D. Hook, W. H. Mckee Jr, H. K. Smith, J. Gregory, V. G. Burrell Jr, ... Chapter Thirty - four AQUACULTURE IN MANGROVE WETLANDS : A PERSPECTIVE FROM SOUTHEAST ASIA James P. McVey ...
REHABILITATING DAMAGED ECOSYST: Volume 1
By John Cairns
50. Parry , G. D. R. and Bell , R. M. , Covering systems , in Contaminated Land : Reclamation and Treatment , Smith , M. A. , Ed . , Plenum Press , London , 1985 , 113 . 51. Cairney , T. C. , Soil cover reclamations , in Reclaiming ...
A New Century for Natural Resources Management
By Richard L. Knight, Sarah F. Bates
... 135 Civilian Conservation Corps , 21 Clark , William , 361 Clarke - McNary Act , 13 Clawson , Marion , 53 , 225 Clean ... 298 Caldwell , C. K. , 302 California , conservation education in , 306 Callicott , J. Baird , 11 , 24 Capen ...
The Clean Water Act 20 Years Later
By Robert W. Adler, Jessica C. Landman, Diane M. Cameron
Robert W. Adler, Jessica C. Landman, Diane M. Cameron. 32 33 35 37 39 41 42 43 45 47 48 Chesapeake Executive Council, The Chesapeake Bay... A Progress Report 1990–1991 (1991), 5, 12. Tom Horton and William M. Eichbaum, Turning the Tide, ...
Saving California's Coast: Army Engineers at Oceanside and Humboldt Bay
By Susan Pritchard O'Hara, Gregory Graves
For more than a century the history of the American Frontier, particularly the West, has been the speciality of the Arthur H. Clark Company.
Wild and Scenic Rivers of America
By Tim Palmer
A new vision is sweeping through ecological science: The dense web of dependencies that makes up an ecosystem has gained an added dimension-the dimension of time. Every field, forest, and...
公众环境意识社会化与生态城市品牌塑造
By 李慧, 李博著
... 论述了建设绿色北京的城市战略,是促进北京市可持续发展、提升居民幸福感指数的重要基础;郝文.