10/15/2026
I learned so much about Sandhill Cranes while painting my 2 Sandhill Cranes for "Cranes on Parade".
This is SO interesting...Did you know that sandhill cranes actually dye their feathers rust color each spring?
Yes, they add a rusty-brown color to their gray feathers. “by preening iron-rich mud into their breast and back feathers during the breeding season.”
From Matthew Miller: "I thought they were feeding until I noticed they were taking bites and then preening (messing with their feathers).
Later, after they’d left, I walked through the slough and saw that there were lots of iron deposits in the sand, which were at a depth where periodic groundwater rises and falls allowed the iron to rust.
The only places cranes had disturbed the ground were where these deposits were concentrated. They’d been staining their feathers with rusty iron. Very cool."
SO FASINATING!
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