edHelper.com
Animal Themes
Endangered Animals Theme Unit
Birds

Japanese Cranes

Japanese Cranes
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 7
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   9.43

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    banned, courtship, reverend, lays, despite, contrast, relationship, northernmost, fortune, omnivores, loss, certainly, title, tips, adult, such
     content words:    Baby Japanese, In Japan, World War II, Korean War, Japanese Crane Reserve

Print Japanese Cranes
edHelper.com subscriber options:
     Print Japanese Cranes  (font options, pick words for additional puzzles, and more)
     Quickly print reading comprehension
     Print a proofreading activity

Feedback on Japanese Cranes
     Leave your feedback on Japanese Cranes  (use this link if you found an error in the story)

Other Languages
     Spanish: Las Grullas Japonesas

Japanese Cranes   
1     Japanese cranes, or red-crowned cranes, are symbols of many things such as peace, longevity, and fortune. But, among all the emblems they represent, they miss one reverend title. They are not Japan's official national bird. That title belongs to Japanese pheasants.
 
2     Standing up to 5 feet tall and weighing nearly 26 pounds, Japanese cranes (or "tancho" in Japanese) are among the largest of all cranes. Granted, they cannot lay claim to being the tallest crane on Earth -- an honor safely secured by sarus cranes, but they are certainly the heaviest!
 
3     Despite what their name suggests, Japanese cranes can be found not only in Japan, but also in Russia, China, and Korea. Interestingly, the population in Japan seems to be the only one that does not migrate. Others make two trips a year traveling between their winter residences in central China or Korea and their breeding sites in northern China or Russia. Regardless of where they live, they all have yellow beaks, red bare-skin crowns, and snow-white outfits that set in sharp contrast to their black faces, necks, tips of their flight feathers, and legs. Japanese cranes are omnivores, feeding on both plants and small animals (such as fish, insects, and reptiles) found in marshes, swamps, and wetlands.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
For the complete story with questions: click here for printable
Copyright © 2008 edHelper