The Crane Family Drops In

I never thought about birds being part of a family. They always seemed wedged into flocks or flying solo, Meet the sandhill family - mom, dad and little junior. These 3 (sometimes 4) stay together from hatching until the following spring. After migrating back home, the young are left to live on their own.
Within a field of a 1,000 plus birds, families don't stray too far away from one another. Parents communicate verbally through an endless array of calls.
Lucky birds to be part of such a tight unit. Maybe that's why Sandhills have been around for 2.5 million years.