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These are the cranes that can be found in Izumi, a town in Kyushu, Japan that is famous for its cranes(: (will try to upload pics soon) The information below is taken from the Crane Musuem found in Izumi.
Hooded cranes nest in tundra bogs over widely scattered areas of eastern Siberia and northern China. Sometimes only a few nesting territories may be found within hundreds of square miles. The first nest discovered by a biologist was found in the mid-1970s, so much of the breeding biology of this species in the wild is not well understood.
Historically, large numbers of hooded cranes wintered in Korea, but now most winter on the Japanese island of Kyushu at the Izumi feeding station. Hooded cranes, along with the white-naped cranes, consume over 400 pounds of grain daily at this feeding station! It is ironic that these birds will tolerate people at such close proximity during the winter, but seek out such isolated areas in eastern Asia in which to nest.
The IUCN has categorized hooded cranes as Vulnerable (proposed) while CITES has classified this species as Appendix I.
As in the Korean New Year celebration, white-naped cranes are an important symbol in oriental art and folklore. On the southern island of Kyushu, the Japanese care for thousands of wintering white-naped and hooded cranes at the Izumi feeding station. While artificial feeding stations have allowed populations to grow (from just 20 birds in the 1950s to about 2,000), the high concentration of cranes at Izumi makes them more vulnerable to the disease.
White-naped cranes prefer wetland edges and adjacent grasslands, filling a niche between the more aquatic Siberian cranes and the less aquatic hooded and Eurasian cranes. Although World War II and the Korean War were hard on the white-naped cranes, the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea is now an important wintering and migratory staging area. ICF persuaded the South Korean government to preserve the Han River estuary, a large wetland near the DMZ, as a refuge for the white-naped, red crowned, and hooded cranes. ICF is also assisting China, Russia, and Mongolia in establishing new jointly-managed reserves on their common borders.
The IUCN has categorized white-naped cranes as Vulnerable (proposed) while CITES has classified this species as Appendix I.
The red-crowned crane is the sacred crane, widely revered in the Orient as a symbol of fidelity in marriage, of good luck, of long life, and of love. These cranes are often the subjects of Oriental poems, mythology, and art. Most red-crowned cranes breed in the Amur River basin near the China-Russia border. These birds spend the winter in coastal areas of China and on the Korean peninsula, many within the Korean Demilitarized Done (DMZ). A non-migratory population remains year-round on Hokkaido, Japan's northernmost island and can be seen at close range as they feed at artificial winter feeding areas.
Hokkaido and Korea have cold, snowy winters very similar to Wisconsin,but the large-bodied red-crowned cranes are adapted to colder weather by their large body size. (Larger animals have proportionally less surfaces area to body mass compared to smaller animals and therefore lose heat more slowly.) These cranes also feed at feeding stations so they conserve energy that would otherwise be expended hunting for food.
The IUCN has categorized red-crowned cranes as Endangered (proposed) while CITES has classified this species as Appendix I.
Demoiselles are the second most numerous crane (sandhill cranes are the most common) with a population of about 230 000. Flocks containing 400 or more birds may migrate together from eastern Europe and the countries of former USSR to India, Pakistan, and norteast Africa. While cranes prefer to migrate at much lower altitudes, some demoiselles must reach altitudes of 22 000 feet as they migrate through the high Himalayan mountain passes on their way to wintering areas in India.
Demoiselles nest in the uplands rather than wetlands, like most other crane species, and may even inhabit deserts if water is available within 200-500 meters. Nests are sometimes made of pebbles, but often eggs are laid directly on the ground amidst spotty vegetation tall enough to hide the incubating parent.
Like many cranes, demoiselles will defend their nests aggressively. This is especially true as hatching nears since the pair has so much time and effort invested in this particular clutch of eggs. If the eggs are taken by a predator during early incubation, cranes will often build another nest nearby and lay a second clutch.
As a rule, the larger a crane is, the larger its territory. Cranes use their loud voices to warn intruding cranes of their trespass. If the other crane does not heed the territorial pair's warning, a fight may ensue with the interloper almost always the loser. Demoiselles are the smallest of cranes and also have small territories, but their short and relatively quieter calls are sufficient to be heard to the edge of their territory.
The IUCN has categorized demoiselle cranes as Lower Risk (proposed) while CITES has classfied this species as Appendix II.
The western and central flocks of Siberian cranes migrate 3 700 miles from western Siberia to either India and Iran to winter, while the eastern birds migrate 3 100 miles to central China from eastern Siberia. Of all cranes, only the lesser sandhill cranes migrate further - from Siberia to Mexico.
During the winter, and when migrating, Siberian cranes specialize in feeding on tubers, small, starchy swellings on the roots of some plants. While on the nesting areas they feed on invertebrates, cranberries, frogs, mollusks, aquatic insects and fish.
The most highly specialized cranes, Siberian cranes are confined to wetlands at all times, unlike many ofter species which may also use uplands. Siberians are the only crane to have a serrated bill, which may make it easier for them to grasp tubers or slippery prey.
Captive to breeding of Siberians is very difficult. In the wild, lengthening daylight periods at the Arctic Circle trigger breeding in the spring. ICF was the first organization to breed Siberians by using floodlights to artificially mimc light conditions of the 24 hours of daylight found in this birds' native range.
To enhance egg production, ICF aviculturists cause our breeding pairs to "double-clutch" by removing their first set of eggs. The pairs will often then lay a second clutch of two eggs. We use Florida sandhills, or another common species, to incubate the eggs. Indeed one of the major rationales for keeping an endangered species in captivity is the higher reproductive potential that's possible through these types of manipulations.
The IUCN has categorized Siberian cranes as Endangered (proposed) while CITES has classified this species as Appendix I.
The Common Crane, also known as The Eurasian crane, is the third most numerous crane after the sandhill and demoiselle. They are also the most widely distributed of the cranes, occurring in over 85 Eurasian and African countries! They are protected and well-loved in Scandinavian countries, where their return is heralded as a sign of spring to winter-weary residents. Near Hornborga, Sweden, migrant cranes pause to feast on potatoes set out for them by local people. In 1996, approximately 6 000 cranes staged at Hornborga and over 120 000 people from all parts of Europe came to enjoy the spectacle.
In Germany, groups of volunteers clear marshes of brush and build artificial islands in areas of open water to create more nesting sites. Cranes also feed at staging areas planted with crops especially for them. They are not, however, as populat in Russia where they sometimes raid grain fields. England carefully protects a few nesting pairs, their first since the mid 1650s! On rare occasions, a wayward Eurasian crane, lost during migration, may even find itself in North America.
The ICUN has categorized Eurasian cranes as Lower Risk (proposed) while CITES has classified this species as Appendix II.
Fossils over six million years old found in Nebraska make the sandhill crane the oldest still-living species of bird. Sandhills are native to Wisconsin and much of North America and eastern Russia. There are six subspecies, or races, of sandhill cranes. The greater, lesser and Canadian subspecies are migratory, while the Mississippi, Cuban and Florida are not. All three non-migratory subspecies are classified as either threatened of endangered. The subspecies living in Wisconsin is the greater sandhill crane.
There were as few as 25 breeding pairs remaining in Wisconsin by the mid-1930s, but sandhills are now thriving in the state after their population began to rebound in the 1970s. The Wisconsin sandhill recovery is due to hunting prohibitions and protection and restoration of wetlands. The cranes have also adapted to humans by nesting in smaller wetlands and by feeding in agricultural fields. This sometimes leads to conflicts with farmers in the spring when cranes may raid corn fields, pulling up the newly-sprouted corn plants and eating the seed kernel off the roots.
The IUCN has categorized sandhill cranes as Lower Risk (proposed) while CITES has classified this species as Appendix II.
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