With some species reaching 1.8 meters (5.9 feet) in height, the majestic and ancient crane family look like they belong well and truly on the ground. But these gangly creatures are actually surprisingly nimble fliers, and some species cross entire continents, high mountain ranges, and oceans while migrating thousands of miles to reach their breeding and wintering grounds each year.
The lesser sandhill crane, a subspecies of the sandhill crane (Antigone canadensis), holds the record for the longest migration of any crane species. These hardy birds travel an incredible over 8,047 kilometers (5,000 miles) each way, migrating from their breeding grounds in northeastern Siberia to their wintering areas as far south as northern Mexico. Along the way, they use updrafts of warm air, called thermals, to help them gain altitude and glide over vast distances. This ability to ride thermals is one of the many impressive feats of the bird world, enabling many species to travel over open oceans and even fly without flapping their wings for hours at a time.
During migration, crane chicks complete their first journey alongside their parents, learning the routes their ancestors have used for thousands of years. Fossil evidence from Nebraska reveals that a close relative of the modern sandhill crane roamed the area around 10 million years ago, making them one of the oldest living bird families. Every spring, more than 500,000 sandhill cranes gather in Nebraska’s Platte River Valley during their northward migration, a “staging” area where approximately 80 percent of all sandhill cranes stop to rest.
But migration isn’t without its risks. It’s one of the most dangerous times for cranes, as they face threats from predators, exhaustion, and collisions with power lines. To make their journey more efficient, cranes often fly in a V formation, reducing drag and conserving energy, a technique many migratory birds use.
On top of covering vast distances, one of the most remarkable crane migrations is that of the demoiselle crane (Anthropoides virgo), the smallest crane species. In these cranes’ journey to their wintering ground in India, they must cross the Himalayas, flying at altitudes of between 4,877 and 7,925 meters (16,000-26,000 feet), a height that puts them at risk of colliding with aircraft and makes them one of the world’s highest flying birds.
Flying in these sub-zero, low-oxygen conditions puts the demoiselle crane at increased risk of dying from exhaustion; however, their specially adapted lungs make them more efficient at breathing oxygen under these conditions.
Cranes travel incredible distances and astonishing heights each year, but some species are being threatened by property and agricultural developments that are seeing their breeding and wintering grounds being diminished. As their impressive journeys surpass political boundaries, conservation efforts to protect threatened crane species require the input of all the countries cranes call home to safeguard these migratory routes.
