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Abstract
Crane chicks are dependent on parent birds for provisioning during the first few months of life, but no study has examined this provisioning in detail. In 2014 research staff at the U.S. Geological Survey, Eastern Ecological Science Center (formerly Patuxent Wildlife Research Center), in Laurel, Maryland, made multiple observations of parent whooping cranes (Grus americana) feeding or interacting with their chick during the 3 months from hatching to fledging. Both parents participated in the feeding of the chick and only 1 chick was raised by each pair of parent whooping cranes. Initially feeding frequency was low (0-20 times per hr), but as the chick absorbed its yolk sac and required food, feeding frequency increased to a high of 105 times per hour. Whooping crane parents fed their chick from 0 to 105 times per hour. Feeding frequency peaked around day 19, then decreased after the chicks reached 40 days of age but continued at a low level during the entire 3 months from hatch to fledging. Because feeding frequency observed for this study was very low at fledging, the use of feeding by alloparents as a measure of chick-alloparent bond may not be practical.
| Publication type | Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | Conference Paper |
| Title | Observations on Whooping Crane parental provisioning of chicks |
| Volume | 15 |
| Year Published | 2022 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | North American Crane Working Group |
| Contributing office(s) | Eastern Ecological Science Center |
| Description | 5 p. |
| Larger Work Type | Book |
| Larger Work Subtype | Conference publication |
| Larger Work Title | Proceedings of the North American crane workshop |
| First page | 123 |
| Last page | 127 |
| Conference Title | 15th North American Crane Workshop |
| Conference Location | Lubbock TX |
| Conference Date | January 8-11, 2020 |
| Google Analytic Metrics | Metrics page |