Lesser and Greater Sandhill Cranes

[Eric Gofreed]

The size difference between these two birds is remarkable. The male Sandhill crane is about 4 inches smaller than the female. Since the bird on top looks to be 1/4 the volume of the bottom bird (half as tall and half as wide equals 1/4 the volume), I have concluded it is a Lesser Sandhill crane. The larger bird is a Greater Sandhill Crane

 

[Ben Egbert]

Yo have a great positions for the two birds and fantastic detail.

 

[AlanLichty]

Is size the only differentiator between the greater and lesser subspecies of the sandhill cranes? Nice in flight shot.

 

[JimFox]

Awesome positioning on these. Couldn’t have choreographed it better if you had tried.

 

[Eric Gofreed]

Is size the only differentiator between the greater and lesser subspecies of the sandhill cranes? Nice in flight shot.

The lesser sandhill has a much shorter bill and shorter legs and proportionally longer wings with slightly darker primaries than the greater sandhill. (but color variations in the wings makes this unreliable). It's much easier to see the size difference in this photo; but when feeding in the farm fields it is quite difficult to tell them apart.

 

[Douglas Sherman]

I whiffed on this one. Sorry because it is a wonderful image, Eric.

 

[Littlefield]

Eric, you really nailed this one perfect timing.
Don