Hooded Crane

In an extraordinary story of “taking the long way ‘round,” a bird from the other side of the world paid a visit to the Hiwassee Wildlife Refuge in eastern Tennessee, shortly before the New Year. Jeffrey Davis drove 12 hours from Chester County, Penn., to take this photo of the Hooded Crane, a 3-foot tall grey and white bird (far right) that typically lives in Siberia and northern China and winters in Japan. More than 2,500 visitors from at least 35 states and five countries — including, ironically, Russia — visited Hiwassee to see the bird, who likely followed Sandhill cranes during their yearly migration from Russia to North America. A report by the Indianapolis Star placed the bird in southern Indiana during February.