Hunting
Cranes
Sundhill Crane Grus Canadensis
Identification:
· Length: 37 inches Wingspan: 80 inches
· Large, long-legged, long-necked bird
· Long, pointed bill
· Holds neck straight both at rest and in flight, not tucking it in like herons do
· Dark gray legs extended in flight
· Long, fluffy tertials droop down over tail and primaries
Adult:
· Dark bill
· Unfeathered red crown and lores
· Entirely gray plumage, that often becomes stained with rust or brown, especially about the back and wings
· Whitish cheeks and chin
Juvenile:
· Feathered crown
· Gray-brown plumage mottled with cinnamon
Similar species:
All herons tuck their necks in an "S" curve while flying and lack the long, fluffy tertials and red crown. The very rare Whooping Crane is white overall with black primaries and a different head pattern.
Whooping crane Grus americana
Identification :
· Length: 45 inches Wingspan: 90 inches
· Very large, long-legged, long-necked bird
· Long, pointed bill
· Holds neck straight both at rest and in flight, not tucking it in like herons do
· Dark legs extended in flight
· Long, fluffy tertials droop down over tail and primaries
· Black primaries
· Rare and local-breeds in NW Canada and winters in coastal Texas, reintroductions attempted in NW United States and Florida
Adult:
· Red crown
· Black at base of bill extending onto cheek
· Entirely white plumage
Juvenile:
· White body with scattered brown feathers
· Pale brown head and neck
Similar species:
With its huge size and white plumage, the Whooping Crane is unmistakable at close range. In flight, similarly white egrets tuck their necks in an "S" curve while flying and lack the black primaries. Sand hill Crane is similar in shape but is gray overall.
Pin-tailed Sandgrouse (Pterocles Alchata)
The Pin-tailed Sandgrouse is typically a bird of open treeless plains. It is about 30 cm.long with sharpened central pens of the tail, white belly, inferior part of the white wing with black end Male: in summer, superficially brown grayish, speckled of yellow; black chin and throat, wrap pectoral chestnut Female: In winter, both have similarities and more extinguished colors.
Female nests in the ground, in a small depression that very rarely fills up with pieces of wood, in semi desert plains, stony zones, beaches and salt marshes,Putting, between April and June, of 2 to 3 sandy eggs brown with reddish spots and dark ash-gray
Incubation: By both parents, of about 21 days.The chickens leave the nest soon after being born. The mother brings the water to them in the soaked pens of the chest.
Feeding:
Seeds, some stems and rare time insects. It drinks regularly, especially during hot days. They form a cyclone shape, birds at the bottom drink first
Habitat:
Uncultivated scrubs and grain fields.Other sub speices are the black bellied sandgrouse (petrocles orientalis) and the spotted sandgrouse ( pterocles senegallus).