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Also called the Common Crane, the

Eurasian Crane makes its home in

over 80 countries throughout much

of Europe, Asia, and Africa. These

highly adaptable cranes have found

a way to cope with the pressures of

an expanding human population.

Many of them use small wetlands

on human-altered landscapes and

depend on croplands for food. Their

numbers have rapidly increased in

Europe, and in some areas the crop

damage they cause creates conflict

between farmers and cranes—one

of the tensions that the ICF is

working to alleviate.

The Sandhill Crane. I see these cranes flying over

my home in Tennessee in great flocks during

their migration twice a year. Thousands of them

winter-over at Tennessee’s Hiwassee Refuge.

In Wisconsin the Sandhill population declined

sharply in the 1930’s, due to the sudden loss of

many of Wisconsin’s wetlands. With effective

wetland protection, cranes have been able to

adapt to the altered landscape. Sandhills have

come to recognize agricultural fields as an easy

source of food, and the abundance of these fields

helps support the thousands of breeding pairs

that nest in Wisconsin today.

Sarus Cranes are mostly non-migratory, but often

make short, seasonal movements between dry and

wet season habitats in Southeast Asia, India, and

Australia. Throughout their range, Sarus Cranes

utilize wetlands, floodplains, human-altered

ponds, cultivated fields and rice paddies.

Despite these potential conflicts for resources,

some cranes receive protection from people due to

cultural beliefs. Sarus Cranes in India are revered

as sacred birds and live peacefully alongside local

people. Farmers respectfully cultivate their lands

while ensuring the safety of the cranes.

The Brolga Crane is unique among cranes

because of its many adaptations to the

diverse and challenging conditions found

in Australia. This species has evolved the

ability to excrete excess salt from a gland

near its eye, allowing it to thrive in

Australia’s coastal and brackish marshes.