This lifeform is found in the Great Plains of North America. The white color will help identify this lifeform. This lifeform is endangered and could quickly become extinct.

Whooping Crane (Grus americana) used to be found in many locations in the United States and Canada. Recently, however, the wintering grounds of this magnificent species have been confined to the Aransas National Wildlife Refuge located along the Gulf Coast of Texas in the United States. In summer, the species is confined to a few places in northern Canada.

The white color and red face help identify this giant bird; it can be as large as fifty-five inches in length. The wingspan is frequently over seven feet.

Each year the bird watching community eagerly awaits the counts from Aransas to determine how many examples remain of this celebrated species. The low point was in the early l940s when less than twenty-five birds remained.

Experiments are ongoing using Sandhill Crane nests as foster homes for Whooping Crane eggs in an attempt to get the parents to lay additional replacement eggs each season.

Significant conservation efforts have been applied to keeping this species from going extinct. Although the accuracy of some counts could be in question, only 18 birds were counted in the winter survey during the winter of 1938-39. In 1996, 128 adult cranes and 28 chicks were counted at Aransas, and several other wild populations had been established.

Cranes (Family Gruidae) are a group of very large beautiful birds
found in both the Old and New World. Perhaps the most celebrated conservation effort ever attempted has been to preserve the Whooping Crane of the United States and Canada. All of the species in this family are listed below and total fifteen species. About half are seriously threatened or vulnerable and are indicated by a "^".

Anthropoides paradisea  Stanley Crane       Africa
Anthropoides virgo      Demoiselle Crane    Palearctic

Balearica pagonia       Crowned Crane       Africa
Balearica regulorum     S. Africa Crowned   Africa

Bugeranus carunculatus  Wattled Crane^      Africa

Grus american           Whooping Crane^     North America
Grus antigone           Sarus Crane         Orient
Grus canadensis         Sandhill Crane      Northern Hemisphere
Grus grus               Common Crane        Eurasia
Grus japonicus          Manchurian Crane^   Orient, India, Eurasia
Grus leucogeranus       Great White Crane^  Eastern Paleartic
Grus monacha            Hooded Crane^       Eurasia and Orient
Grus nigricollis        Black Necked Crane^ Orient to India
Grus rubicunda          Brolga              Australia
Grus vipio              Japan White Nape^   East Palearctic

Cranes and Rails (Order Gruiformes) are a worldwide group of 199
species, some of which have recently become extinct. They are medium to large in size and usually associated with water.

Aves contains about 8,650 different species of living birds known to science. Each year about one new species is discovered in some remote rain forest or remote island. In addition, scientists have been raising many subspecies to full species status which may raise the species count to 10,000.

However, each year about one species goes extinct. The rate of extinction is increasing, and the rate of new discovery is decreasing, so that the number of bird species will soon begin to decline rapidly. Although different taxonomists would organize the birds differently, there are approximately twenty-seven orders of birds. These orders are broken down into about one hundred and fifty-five different families.

Recent research of the genetic structure of some of the shore birds and owls would indicate that the present organization of orders and families should have some modification.

The birds are a worldwide group of animals that are characterized by having the front limbs modified into wings that are used for flying. Perhaps the most unique feature of the birds is the feathers. These feathers are made up of a central support called a quill and a series of small filaments that are hooked together as barbs.

For many years it was believed that Archaeopteryx discovered in Bavaria was the oldest bird from about 150 million years ago.  However, in l986, Sankar Chattterjee, a Texas paleontologist, reportedly discovered a bird in the genus Protoavis that lived about 225 million years ago.

Backboned Animals (Phylum Chordata) are the most advanced group of animals on earth. These animals are characterized by having a spinal cord or backbone. Most members have a clearly defined brain that controls the organism through a spinal cord. Fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals are in this phylum.

Currently, some taxonomists believe that the fish should be divided into two groups (sharks and regular fishes) and that there are some other primitive groups in the phylum such as hagfish or lampreys.

Animal Kingdom contains numerous organisms that feed on other animals or plants. Included in the animal kingdom are the lower marine invertebrates such as sponges and corals, the jointed legged animals such as insects and spiders, and the backboned animals such as fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.