Siberian cranes are an endangered species, and there are less than 1,000 breeding pairs in the world. Each breeding pair only raises one chick per season, and many of the birds' natural habitats have been disturbed. There is heavy hunting of the birds in areas where they over-winter.

Cranes lay two eggs, but the chicks compete so that only one generally survives. One method of seeking to increase the population of cranes is for expert teams to remove one of the eggs from a nesting pair, and raise that chick away form its parents. This is already being done in several places. However, to survive in nature once reintroduced, nestlings need to understand crane calls and voices. This project will collect a library of voice sounds so that nestlings learn crane calls.