Crane Squabble
There were many large flocks of Sandhill Cranes on the fields around Bosque del Apache, but for the most part only one group had frequent squabbles. Many hours were spend watching the behaviors. More aggressive birds would chase away those more submissive, sometimes giving them a kick or bite on their tail feathers. When two aggressive characters faced off, one or sometimes both would jump in the air, leaning back and kicking at the other. From my observations, it was more for show of dominance than actual physical combat. Few of the kicks landed and of the many squabbles I saw, none lasted more than a few seconds and no damage seemed to have been inflicted, other than to pride.
As shown in the image shared here, surrounding cranes were interested in the conflict and once done, they and the participants would raise their bills to the sky and seem to verbally work it out, or maybe declare who was the
victor. I'm guessing that the behavior was to impress the females who were interested in breeding with the most dominant and impressive male. (Grus canadensis)
Crane Squabble
There were many large flocks of Sandhill Cranes on the fields around Bosque del Apache, but for the most part only one group had frequent squabbles. Many hours were spend watching the behaviors. More aggressive birds would chase away those more submissive, sometimes giving them a kick or bite on their tail feathers. When two aggressive characters faced off, one or sometimes both would jump in the air, leaning back and kicking at the other. From my observations, it was more for show of dominance than actual physical combat. Few of the kicks landed and of the many squabbles I saw, none lasted more than a few seconds and no damage seemed to have been inflicted, other than to pride.
As shown in the image shared here, surrounding cranes were interested in the conflict and once done, they and the participants would raise their bills to the sky and seem to verbally work it out, or maybe declare who was the
victor. I'm guessing that the behavior was to impress the females who were interested in breeding with the most dominant and impressive male. (Grus canadensis)