Morphological measurements and subspecies of midcontinent sandhill cranes

The midcontinent population of sandhill cranes (Antigone canadensis) has historically been classified into three putative subspecies, but genetic analyses have identified only two genetically distinct subspecies. Previous studies have successfully used morphometrics in combination with an individual’s sex to differentiate subspecies of sandhill cranes that had been inferred based on breeding area, but no study has used a sample of genetically determined subspecies to discriminate and develop predictive models. These data were used to support an effort to develop a field-ready tool using common morphometric measurements without determination of an individual’s sex and linear discriminant analysis to classify genetically identified A. c. canadensis (Lesser) and A. c. tabida (Greater) sandhill crane subspecies.