Fluffy Golf Ball

A sandhill crane does its imitation of a fluffy gold ball by standing on one leg while burying its head in the feathers on its back. I found this... more

by Norman Johnson

Title

Fluffy Golf Ball

Artist

Norman Johnson

Medium

Photograph - Photography

Description

A sandhill crane does its imitation of a fluffy gold ball by standing on one leg while burying its head in the feathers on its back. I found this crane in a field in southern Hillsborough County on a warm summers day in 2016 near Riverview, Florida. The sandhill crane (antigone canadensis) can be found from northern Canada across to Alaska and eastern Siberia and a far south as Mexico, the southern United States and Cuba. There are seen rarely in China, Korea and Japan, and very rarely in Europe. There are three non-migratry populations: Mississippi, Florida, and Cuba and six migratory populations: eastern flyway, mid-continent flyway, rocky mountain flyway, lower Colorado River flyway, central valley flyway, and the Pacific flyway. They migrate from their breeding gounds in the north during the warmer months to the south during winter. you will see them in open grasslands, meadows, seed fields, and shallow fresh water marshes.

Sandhill cranes are large heaby bodied birds with long necks and legs. They stand up to four feet tall and have a wingspan from between five feet five inches and seven feet six inches. They have a long dark pointed bill, black legs and a short drooping tail. The body is slate gray with rusty undertones on the belly, white cheeks, and a red forehead. The chicks are yellow with rusty orange accents. Great soaring birds, they hold their necks straight in from of them and trail their legs behind. They can live up to 35 years in the wild and form flocks of over 10,000 birds during migration.

Uploaded

October 19th, 2016