# Whooping Crane (*Grus americana*)

> The whooping crane (Grus americana) is North America's tallest bird and a flagship conservation success, breeding in Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, and wintering on the Texas Gulf Coast. Adults stand near 1.5 m, eat crabs, fish, and plant matter in wetlands, and remain Endangered despite recovery from fewer than 20 wild birds.

- **Category:** Bird
- **Conservation status (IUCN):** Endangered
- **Range:** Breeds in Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada; winters on the Texas Gulf Coast.
- **Canonical page:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/whooping-crane/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Scientific classification

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Aves
- **Order:** Gruiformes
- **Family:** Gruidae
- **Genus:** Grus

## Facts at a glance

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Grus americana |
| Diet | Omnivore |
| Habitat | Wetlands, prairie marshes, and coastal flats |
| Lifespan | Around 25 years in the wild (varies by population and captivity). |
| Weight | About 7 kg typical adult mass (sex and region vary). |
| Top speed | Up to roughly 70 km/h when moving at speed. |
| Conservation status | Endangered (IUCN) |

## Tallest crane in North America

Adults are brilliant white with black wingtips visible in flight and a bare red crown. Trumpeting calls carry across marshes. Chicks are called colts.

## Wetland omnivore

Diet includes blue crabs, clams, fish, insects, frogs, and tubers or grains depending on season and site — Aransas wintering grounds are famous for crab feeding.

## Wood Buffalo to Texas

The core wild flock breeds in Wood Buffalo National Park, Canada, and migrates to coastal Texas. Reintroduced flocks exist in Wisconsin–Florida and Louisiana.

## Endangered but recovering

Hunting and wetland drainage left fewer than 20 birds in the 1940s. Legal protection, migration monitoring, and captive rearing rebuilt numbers, yet the species remains Endangered with limited genetic diversity.

## Frequently asked questions

### How many whooping cranes are left?

Wild and reintroduced populations together number in the hundreds — far above the 1940s low, but still Endangered.

### Where do whooping cranes winter?

The main migratory flock winters on the Texas Gulf Coast, especially around Aransas National Wildlife Refuge.

### What do whooping cranes eat in Texas?

Blue crabs are a key winter food, along with other aquatic animals and plant material.

### Why are whooping cranes Endangered?

Tiny population size, habitat limits on migration routes, and collision risks (power lines) keep them Endangered despite recovery gains.

### What is a baby whooping crane called?

A young whooping crane is called a colt — that is the usual English name for a young whooping crane.

---
Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/whooping-crane/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.