The Cry of the Sandhill Crane

Very good used paperback. Slightly cocked spine.

The sandhill crane is hardly your average bird. Consider:

The crane mates for life, but a young sandhill "dates" several birds before settling down and choosing one partner.

Cranes are the exotic dancers of the bird kingdom--their pirouettes have been compared to the antics of fervent pioneer preachers leading their congregations.

One researcher tells the story of a Florida sandhill that specialized in "pest control," visiting six homes every day, chirping at each door to request admission, then walking about the house and devouring all the horseflies it could find on doors and windows.

Of course, there's a serious side to the sandhill's story. The crane is the oldest living bird species. It has inhabited the earth for about sixty million years, facing and surviving every conceivable hardship. Today, though, human intrusions represent a threat that even the world's oldest bird may not be able to withstand, particularly in Nebraska's Platte River Valley, where half a million cranes come to feed and roost each spring.

Author Steve Grooms unravels the crane's natural history in a lively, informative, and entertaining text.