Editing Common crane (section)

===Sociality===
The common crane is a fairly social bird while not breeding. Flocks of up to 400 birds may be seen flying together during migration. Staging sites, where migrating birds gather to rest and feed in the middle of their migration, may witness thousands of cranes gathering at once. However, the flocks of the species are not stable social units but rather groups that ensure greater safety in numbers and collectively draw each other's attention to ideal foraging and roosting sites.<ref name=Bautista1995/> Possibly due to a longer molt, younger and non-breeding cranes are usually the earliest fall migrants and may band together at that time of year. During these migratory flights, common cranes have been known to fly at altitudes of up to {{convert|33000|ft|m|abbr=on}}, one of the highest of any species of bird, second only to the [[Ruppell's Griffin Vulture]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://themysteriousworld.com/10-highest-flying-birds-in-the-world/|title=Top 10 Highest Flying Birds In The World - The Mysterious World|date=31 March 2015}}</ref>

Cranes use a kleptoparasitic strategy to recover from temporary reductions in feeding rate, particularly when the rate is below the threshold of intake necessary for survival.<ref name=Bautista1998/> Accumulated intake of common cranes during daytime at a site of stopover and wintering shows a typical anti-sigmoid shape, with greatest increases of intake after dawn and before dusk.<ref name=Bautista2013/>