Sandhill crane (English spelling: Grus canadensis)

Japanese: カナダヅル（英語表記）Grus canadensis; sandhill crane

It is a member of the Crane family of the order Gruidae. Its total length is 90-119cm, and its back length is 80-120cm. Its cheeks and throat are white, its eyes to forehead and the front of its head are red, and its flight feathers are black. The rest of its body is gray-brown, with olive-brown feathers mixed in with its coverts. It is similar to the Common Crane, but the Common Crane has a black face and foreneck and a white band on its neck. It breeds in northeastern Siberia, Canada, the northern United States, the Florida Peninsula, and Cuba. In high latitudes, it migrates from the southern United States to northern Mexico after breeding. A subspecies lives as a resident bird in the Florida Peninsula, Cuba, and the lower Mississippi River basin. It builds nests in the tundra and grasslands, piling up grass. It feeds on land and in shallow waters, eating any small animals it can get its hands on, including insects, earthworms, mice, snakes, and frogs. It is one of the most abundant cranes, but the population of the resident subspecies is decreasing. They occasionally come to Japan as winter birds (→migratory birds) and live in wetlands and rice fields among other cranes.

Source: Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia About Encyclopaedia Britannica Concise Encyclopedia Information

Japanese:

ツル目ツル科。全長 90～119cm，背丈は 80～120cm。頬と喉が白，眼から額，頭上前部が赤く，風切羽は黒い。そのほかは全身灰褐色で，雨覆羽などにはオリーブ褐色の羽毛が交じる。クロヅルに似ているが，クロヅルは顔と前頸が黒く，頸側に白帯がある。シベリア北東部，カナダ，アメリカ合衆国北部，フロリダ半島，キューバで繁殖する。高緯度地方では繁殖後にアメリカ南部からメキシコ北部へ渡る。フロリダ半島やキューバ，ミシシッピ川下流域では亜種が留鳥として生息する。ツンドラや草原に草を積んで巣をつくる。陸上や浅瀬で採食し，昆虫やミミズ，ネズミ，ヘビ，カエルなど，手に入る小動物はなんでも食べる。ツル類のなかでは生息数がきわめて多いが，留鳥の亜種は個体数が減少している。日本にはまれに冬鳥（→渡り鳥）として渡来し，ほかのツル類に交じって湿地や水田に生息する。

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