sandhill crane
Gray migratory wader
A sandhill crane is a large North American wading bird with long legs, a long neck, and gray plumage, known for its loud, rattling call and elaborate courtship dances.
Sandhill cranes migrate in massive flocks and gather by the hundreds of thousands at staging areas like Nebraska's Platte River: We watched the sandhill cranes come in at dusk.
Of considerable height
- leggyHaving lengthy limbs
- statuesqueTall, graceful, dignified
- elegantGracefully refined, tasteful
- uprightVertical or morally sound
graceful · long-necked · slender · wading · stilted
Bird's complete feather coat
- feathersBird's lightweight covering
- beakHorny avian mouthpart
- wingsLimbs for flight
- wingspanTip-to-tip extent
gray · avian · ornithology · species · flock · birdwatching · ornithologist · fauna
Rhythmic bodily movement
- matingReproductive pairing behavior
- displayPresentation for viewing
- ritualCeremonial set of actions
- bowingBending forward in deference
leaping · calling · duet · bonding · pairing · breeding · monogamy · nesting
Established bird migration path
- flockAnimals gathered together
- seasonalRecurring at fixed intervals
- journeyTravel from place to place
- overwinterSurvive the cold season
stopover · staging · navigation · V-formation · thermals · gliding · soaring · northward
tall
Of considerable height
- leggyHaving lengthy limbs
- statuesqueTall, graceful, dignified
- elegantGracefully refined, tasteful
upright · graceful · long-necked · slender · wading · stilted
plumage
Bird's complete feather coat
wingspan · gray · avian · ornithology · species · flock · birdwatching · ornithologist · fauna · wildlife
dance
Rhythmic bodily movement
bowing · leaping · calling · duet · bonding · pairing · breeding · monogamy · nesting · territorial
flyway
Established bird migration path
overwinter · stopover · staging · navigation · V-formation · thermals · gliding · soaring · northward · southward
marsh
Grassy waterlogged lowland
grassland · meadow · reedbed · slough · floodplain · riparian · sedge · cattail · shallow water · nesting ground
- AlaskaFairbanks, Juneau, Denali, Sitka, Kodiak
- North American Naturebald eagle, American bison, bison, grizzly bear, raccoon
- game animalsdeer, wild boar, pheasant, quail, grouse
- large birdsostrich, emu, cassowary, condor, albatross
- migrantsmigrants, arctic tern, monarch butterfly, caribou, humpback whale
- migratory animalsCanada goose, geese, snow goose, ducks, swans
sandhill cranegreat blue heron
Large wading bird, North America
heron · egret · great egret · bittern · stork
sandhill cranehummingbird
Small nectar-feeding hoverer
ruby-throated hummingbird · wren · chickadee · kinglet · bushtit