General Description: Common Cranes (Grus grus) are very large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds that fly with the neck stretched out. Adults are gray overall except the head and neck are black with white on the face and down the side of the neck. Juveniles are brown. The bustle (tail feathers) is quite extensive and dark.

Taxonomy: Gruiformes, Gruidae, Gruinae.

Favored Habitat: Shallow ponds; marshes; stubble fields.

Where to Find: Don't look for Common Crane around Las Vegas. Rather, look for them in northern Europe and northern Asia during summer, and North Africa during winter. Around Las Vegas, keep half an eye out for them during winter in places like Overton Wildlife Management Area, where a bird showed up with four Lesser Sandhill Cranes and one Greater Sandhill Crane in January 2013.

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