Download Whooping Crane Life Cycle

WHOOPING CRANE LIFE CYCLE
By Marlena B
HATCHING

Inside the egg, the baby first breaks the air cell
to breathe. Next, it pecks a small, star-shaped
whole called the star pip. After resting a bit, the
chick continues working on the star pip until it is
about the size of a dime. Then, it pecks at the
shell and turns in a complete circle to form a
seam around the egg. Finally, it kicks free.
TEACHING A CHICK
The chick learns what it needs to know from it’s
parents. To teach it how to drink, a parent
whooping crane will dip it’s beak in water and let
the water drip down. The chick will become
curious and peck at the water, eventually
catching some in it’s beak. A similar method is
used with food.
 Chicks learn to swim within a day or two, and it
keep’s it’s parents very busy.

GROWING

Chicks grow very fast. They eat a lot and soon
begin to grow brown feathers. Then, they learn to
preen, or clean their feathers. To do this they
take some of the oil that is contained at the tips
of their feathers clean themselves with it.
FLEDGING

At about ten weeks, whoopers take their first
short flight. This is called fledging. They need to
learn to fly soon so that they can be ready to fly
the long distance to the south for winter.
MIGRATING

When the time comes for the birds to migrate, the
family flies together. Along the way, they must
find safe, flat, swampy areas to land. These are
scars, so this is sometimes a challenge, and the
birds settle for flat farmland.
ON THEIR OWN

On the flight back up north, the baby whooper is
on it’s own. It now has white body feathers, black
wing-tip feathers and brown head feathers. It
may find some friends along the way. But when it
returns home, it is on it’s own to survive in the
wild.