Whooping Crane Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesWhooping Crane
Adult
Very tall with long legs and neck. Entirely white body with a red crown and mustache stripe.
© Tom Johnson / Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 16, 2011Adult
Large with long wings. Flies with neck and legs outstretched. Black wingtips only visible in flight.
© Tom Johnson / Macaulay LibraryTexas, February 16, 2011Adult with Sandhill Cranes
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryNew Mexico, December 01, 1997Not all videos have sound
Adult and juvenile
Large, long-legged, white crane. Feeds in shallow wetlands and pastures. Juveniles have a rusty brown head and mottled back.
© Jeff Langford / Macaulay LibraryTexas, March 04, 2016Adult and juvenile
© Timothy Barksdale / Macaulay LibraryTexas, March 04, 1997Not all videos have sound
Adult (with Sandhill Crane)
Larger than Sandhill Cranes with a white body and black wingtips.
© Michael Bowen / Macaulay LibraryMichigan, July 24, 2019Similar SpeciesSandhill Crane
Adult
Sandhill Cranes are slightly smaller than Whooping Cranes and they are slate gray rather than white.
© Liam Wolff / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, July 12, 2013Similar SpeciesSandhill Crane
Adult
Sandhill Cranes in flight lack the black wingtips seen on flying Whooping Cranes.
© Curt Morgan / Macaulay LibraryNew York, February 10, 2013Similar SpeciesGreat Egret
Adult
Great Egrets have a stouter, sharper, yellow bill, and they lack the Whooping Crane’s red head markings and black wingtips.
© Alex Lamoreaux / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, August 17, 2016Similar SpeciesGreat Egret
Adult
Great Egrets fly with their necks folded so that the head is drawn in toward the shoulders, whereas Whooping Cranes fly with their neck stretched out. Great Egrets also lack the Whooping Cranes black wingtips, visible in flight.
© Tom Johnson / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, July 25, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
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