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Cranes (Gruidae)

Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis) - HBW 3, p. 85

French: Grue du Canada German: Kanadakranich Spanish: Grulla Canadiense
Other common names: Little Brown/Canadian Crane; Lesser Sandhill Crane (canadensis); Canadian Sandhill Crane (rowani); Greater Sandhill Crane (tabida); Mississippi Sandhill Crane (pulla); Florida Sandhill Crane (pratensis); Cuban Sandhill Crane (nesiotes)

Taxonomy: Ardea canadensis Linnaeus, 1758, Hudson Bay, Canada.
Races canadensis, rowani and tabida probably form cline, with gradual changes in morphology, and random pairing among them; these three intergrade along limits of their ranges. Race tabida subdivided into five populations; morphological differences among these populations have been noted, but not analysed in terms of taxonomic importance. Subspecies status of pulla has not been definitively established; first described in 1972, based mainly on colour differences with pratensis; remnant population in Mississippi was probably more widespread in past, an.. View all taxonomy...

Taxonomy: Ardea canadensis Linnaeus, 1758, Hudson Bay, Canada.
Races canadensis, rowani and tabida probably form cline, with gradual changes in morphology, and random pairing among them; these three intergrade along limits of their ranges. Race tabida subdivided into five populations; morphological differences among these populations have been noted, but not analysed in terms of taxonomic importance. Subspecies status of pulla has not been definitively established; first described in 1972, based mainly on colour differences with pratensis; remnant population in Mississippi was probably more widespread in past, and likely to have intergraded with pratensis. Six subspecies normally recognized.

Subspecies and Distribution:

  • canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Arctic and subarctic North America and E Siberia; winters in SW USA and NC Mexico.
  • rowani Walkinshaw, 1965 - subarctic Canada, from British Columbia to N Ontario; winters on Texas coast of Gulf of Mexico, and in SW USA and NC Mexico.
  • tabida (J. L. Peters, 1925) - five breeding populations in mid-continental North America from Vancouver I to Great Lakes region; winters in NC Mexico and S USA, from California to Georgia and Florida.

     See all 6 subspecies
  • canadensis (Linnaeus, 1758) - Arctic and subarctic North America and E Siberia; winters in SW USA and NC Mexico.
  • rowani Walkinshaw, 1965 - subarctic Canada, from British Columbia to N Ontario; winters on Texas coast of Gulf of Mexico, and in SW USA and NC Mexico.
  • tabida (J. L. Peters, 1925) - five breeding populations in mid-continental North America from Vancouver I to Great Lakes region; winters in NC Mexico and S USA, from California to Georgia and Florida.
  • pulla Aldrich, 1972 - Mississippi, USA.
  • pratensis (F. A. A. Meyer, 1794) - Georgia and Florida, USA.
  • nesiotes Bangs & Zappey, 1905 - Cuba and I of Pines.
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