Sandhill cranes are tall, long-necked, long-legged birds with a clump of feathers that droops over the rump. They fly with the neck and legs fully extended. Adults are gray overall (may have brownish-red staining resulting from preening with muddy bill), with a whitish chin, cheek, and upper throat, and dull red skin on the crown and lores (lacking in immatures). Immatures have a pale to tawny, feathered head and neck, and a gray body with brownish-red mottling. Average length is around 41 inches( 104 cm), wingspan about 73 inches (185 cm), but size varies geogrpahically.

A large wading bird with all-white plumage; long black legs and feet; a long neck; and a long, straight, pointed, yellow bill; in breeding plumage, long white plumes extend from back beyond end of tail; average length 99 cm, wingspan 130 cm (NGS 1983).

EGGS: Eggs measure 49 by 37 mm and are elliptical, buff-brown to deep olive-brown, smooth, and slightly glossy (Harrison 1978).

NESTS: The nest is a shallow depression in the ground approximately 10-13 cm in diameter and five cm deep, lined with pieces of dry grass (Bent 1929). Nests are usually well hidden, frequently by vegetation that hangs over the nest hiding it from above (Johnsgard 1981). The eggs are cinnamon to pale olive-buff or greenish-white in color, spotted with brown and underlaying spots of ecru or pale grey. Clutch size is normally four eggs, sometimes three, and rarely five (Bent 1929).

Plumage brown above, white below, with a black double breast band. Wing has broad white stripe. Rump and tail rufous; tailtip black with white terminal band. Average length 27 cm, 61 cm.