National Geographic Cranecam: Photo Gallery

Whether they’re dancing, fighting, or keeping a downy chick warm, sandhill cranes have many sides for you to enjoy. After browsing through our photo gallery, decorate your desktop or e-greet a friend with one of these intriguing birds.

Download wallpaper: Large monitor / Small monitor (Instructions below)

Tuckered Out
Photograph by Michael Forsberg

Silhouetted against a fiery prairie sky, a group of sandhill cranes returns to Nebraska’s Platte River for the night after a day of gorging on waste corn in nearby fields. From late February to early April half a million cranes pass through the Platte on their northern migration to breeding grounds in Siberia, Canada, and Alaska. Coming in overlapping shifts, they stay for about three weeks at a time—creating the largest gathering of cranes in the world. “Like a lot of people around the world, these cranes just struck a note somewhere deep in my heart,” says photographer Michael Forsberg, who’s been photographing sandhill cranes on the Platte for the past eight years.

For Windows 95 or Higher

1. Determine the image size appropriate for your monitor.

2. Click the size you wish to download.

3. After the image appears in your browser, click the right-hand button on your mouse.

4. On the menu that pops up, select SET AS WALLPAPER.

For Mac OS X

1. Determine the image size appropriate for your monitor.

2. Click the size you wish to download.

3. After the image appears in your browser, drag the image onto your desktop.

4. From the Apple menu select SYSTEM PREFERENCES.

5. Select DESKTOP.

6. In the pull-down menu marked "Collection," select CHOOSE FOLDER.

7. Locate desired image file and double-click it.

For Mac OS 9 or Lower

1. Determine the image size appropriate for your monitor.

2. Click the size you wish to download.

3. After the image appears in your
browser, drag the image onto
your desktop.

4. From the Apple Menu (at the
top left of your screen) select CONTROL PANELS, then DESKTOP PICTURES or APPEARANCE. (If the new window reads APPEARANCE, select the tab that reads DESKTOP.)

5. If necessary, click REMOVE PICTURE to clear the current desktop picture.

6. Click SELECT PICTURE or PLACE PICTURE, then locate and click the image file.

7. Click OK or CHOOSE.

8. Finally, click SET DESKTOP.