THE FIRST RECORD OF A FOUR-EGG CLUTCH FOR SANDHILL CRANES

Abstract

We determined clutch sizes in 815 Greater Sandhill Crane (Grus canadensis tabida) nests in Oregon from 1966 through 1984. Of these, 744 (91.3%) nests contained two eggs, 67 (8.2%) one egg, 3 (0.4%) three eggs, and 1 (0.1%)—which we report on here—contained four eggs. The average clutch size was 1.92.

Three-egg clutches from Sandhill Cranes are rare, but there are records from Florida (Walkinshaw 1973), Idaho (Drewien 1973), Michigan (Walkinshaw 1973), Oregon (Littlefield 1981), and Wisconsin (Gluesing 1974).