Derek's blog says referring to Maine breeders: "All of these birds are big, gray, typical "Greater" Sandhill Cranes that are the expected subspecies in eastern North America...There is a lot of variability in how much rusty-brown staining is shown by each Greater. Some have decidedly more than others – a feature acquired by preening with tannin-rich mud, or so we think."
The key distinction not mentioned is that our birds often are rich rusty when returning in spring, and these rusty birds have caused confusion in the past. I apologize if Derek felt slighted but this was the motivation for my post three years ago and seemed worth repeating. Size difference between the sexes and specific mention of primary shaft color were not mentioned and seemed worth sharing.
Louis Bevier
Fairfield
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