Comments on: Which Ones Are Cranes?

By: LA

LA — Mon, 04 Mar 2013 17:49:01 +0000

For months now I’ve been passing a bird on my way to and from work. At first I thought it was a crane. But something seemed off so I thought maybe a heron. Decided to look up info on the two and after reading an article, thought it had to be the heron. After all, I live in South-Central PA (Franklin County). But then I found this and, really, the bird looks so much more like picture 3 than anything! I never noticed a crook in its neck, but it is also smaller than what I read a crane to be…

Thoughts? Or other things to look for? Sadly, its in a slightly different spot each time I pass by and the road is not exactly suited for stopping for a longer look…

By: Lars Mueller

Lars Mueller — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 13:12:03 +0000

#4 Grus Metallus Nauticalis

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 12:22:08 +0000

Ooooo, yes, Gene. I forgot about cattle egrets! (50 lashes with a wet noodle for me!)

By: Gene

Gene — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 04:19:41 +0000

“Herons (and egrets and bitterns) always find their food in water and are always found foraging in water.”
One noted exception I know of is Cattle Egrets. They are usually found in open fields. Even riding on the backs of cattle. They are not common in this area though. I very often see them when I’m in to the Dominican Republic.

ps: I love the Blue Footed Steel Crane by the rivers edge, nice!

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 03:11:07 +0000

>difference between the two? (herons and cranes)
From Wikipedia:

The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called “egrets” or “bitterns” instead of “heron”. … Although herons resemble birds in some other families, such as the storks, ibises, spoonbills and cranes, they differ from these in flying with their necks retracted, not outstretched. They are also one of the bird groups that have powder down (down that purposely disintegrates into powder).

Cranes are a family, Gruidae, of large, long-legged and long-necked birds in the order Gruiformes. There are fifteen species of crane in four genera. Unlike the similar-looking but unrelated herons, cranes fly with necks outstretched, not pulled back.

— From my own perspective: Herons (and egrets and bitterns) always find their food in water and are always found foraging in water. Cranes spend a lot of time on land and will eat land-based foods.

By: Gintaras

Gintaras — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:24:43 +0000

Kate St. John,

I didn’t know, that Great Egrets are Herons.
I’ve taken some photos of Great Egrets past fall:

http://foto.delfi.lt/picture/2057591/

http://foto.delfi.lt/picture/2057593/

http://foto.delfi.lt/picture/2057433/

I guess, it’s a Little Egret:

http://foto.delfi.lt/picture/2057595/

This is a juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron:

http://foto.delfi.lt/picture/2057353/

An adult:

http://foto.delfi.lt/picture/2027513/

Little Egret:

http://foto.delfi.lt/picture/2027519/

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:34:30 +0000

Amazing ESP! Purple vs. House is in the works & will be on the blog after Christmas.

By: Kate St. John

Kate St. John — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 22:32:29 +0000

Karen, Crane #4 is non-migratory — a resident of Berlin. He’s the non-native in the bunch.

By: Anne Marie

Anne Marie — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 21:51:28 +0000

LOL! Kate I loved scrolling down and finding crane #4! You are too funny!

As an extreme novice bird watcher – I wish I could identify the large heron/crane-ish bird I see at North Park Lake on Saturday mornings… if anyone frequents that area and has seen it, can you let me know… thanks

By: Alex Gruskos

Alex Gruskos — Tue, 20 Dec 2011 20:14:16 +0000

so what’s the difference between the two? (herons and cranes) please.