Sandhill Cranes are very large, tall birds with a long neck, long legs, and very broad wings. The bulky body tapers into a slender neck the short tail is covered by drooping feathers that form a âbustle.â The head is small and the bill is straight and longer than the head. These are slate gray birds, often with a rusty wash on the upperparts. Adults have a pale cheek and red skin on the crown. Their legs are black. Juveniles are gray and rusty brown, without the pale cheek or red crown. Sandhill Cranes forage for grains and invertebrates in prairies, grasslands, and marshes. They breed and forage in open prairies, grasslands, and wetlands. Outside of the breeding season, they often roost in deeper water of ponds or lakes, where they are safe from predators.The Montezuma National Wildlife Refuge has diverse habitats of wetland, grassland, shrubland and forest give food, shelter, water and space to many of Central New Yorkâs wildlife species. Waterfowl and other migratory birds depend on the Refuge as nesting, feeding, breeding and stopover grounds on the Atlantic Flyway Zone.
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