Subject: Demoiselle Crane in BC??
Date: May 7 22:37:00 2002
From: Chris Charlesworth - c_charlesworth23 at hotmail.com


Birders,

Initially reported as a Common Crane, the bird seen in Smithers, BC on May
2, 2002 appears to be a Demoiselle Crane. Thanks to Michael Shepherd for
pointing out the possibility that it could be the Demoiselle which spent the
winter in California. After looking at the photo the bird clearly has a pale
gray crown, a field mark illustrated by Mullarney, Zetterstrom, Svennson and
Grant in their field guide, the Birds of Europe. A Common Crane should show
a red patch on the crown, and this bird doesn't. The smaller size is also a
good field mark for Demoiselle Crane, which is 20 % smaller. The tertials
appear neatly arranged, not bushy as in the nearby Sandhill Cranes in the
photo. Also visible in the photo is a dark bar on the leading edge of the
wing. This field mark corresponds to the bird photographed in California.
Any other comments on why this bird would not be the Demoiselle Crane? See
links below.

Links:

http://fog.ccsf.cc.ca.us/~jmorlan/gallery.htm
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/bcprovbirding/files/Common%20Crane.jpg


Chris Charlesworth
Kelowna, BC

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