Consider yourself fortunate to come across sandhill cranes in the throes of their mating dance, as the males leap and prance with wings outspread, bowing and cackling to attract the attention of a mate. Sandhill cranes mate for life, returning to the same nesting site every year. After hatching in July, the chicks take two months to mature to where they can find their own food; in the meantime, both parents work to feed their brood of two. Tall grassy savannas, prairies on the edge of marshes, provide the perfect habitat for the sandhill crane, which feeds on insects, plants, amphibians, and fruit.
