Siberian Crane Wintering in Iran

By Yuri Markin, George Archibald, Sadegh Sadeghi Sadegan

A drop in the water table forces farmers to deepen their rice field by removing top soil into large piles near the fields.

The wet rice fields provide habitat in winter for Siberian Cranes. The cranes often dig in the mud for tubers of the weed, Cyperus rotundus. By removing these tubers, the cranes are helping the rice farmers. Photo by G. Archibald