Knowledge about the annual movement patterns of endangered species is important in understanding various aspects of their biology, such as dispersal from natal areas, seasonal movements,and areas where large numbers aggregate. We compare two techniques of determining and analysing crane movement patterns in South Africa's threatened crane species, namely colour-ringing and satellite telemetry. Wattled Crane and Blue Crane colour-ringing began in 1987 and 1993 respectively. This technique, although being labour-intensive and time-consuming, has produced valuable information about Wattled Crane movements inthe eastern parts of the country, with resightings of 42% of the ringed Wattled Cranes. Since 1993,296 Blue Crane have been ringed but in contrast to the Wattled Crane, the resightings have not added much to our knowledge of this species' movement patterns. The BlueCrane, being endemic to southern Africa and termed a local migrant, required a more sophisticated technique for elucidating Blue Crane movements.