A wild bird with protected status was shot and killed while nesting two eggs in central Minnesota, and state conservation officials are turning to the public as they investigate the suspected case of poaching.

The state Department of Natural Resources (DNR) was alerted to the shooting of a sandhill crane in Todd County early Sunday afternoon by someone who heard the gunfire, agency spokesman Joe Albert said Tuesday.

A DNR conservation officer went to the scene northeast of Clarissa in Germania Township and saw the dead bird and its two eggs in the nest, Albert said. Neither chick survived.

Albert said whoever shot the crane could be charged with "taking a protected bird and shooting within 500 feet of a house."

Sandhill cranes live throughout Minnesota except for the far southern part of the state and the Arrowhead. They migrate south for the winter. The DNR says the sandhill crane population in Minnesota is difficult to pin down.

While it's a protected species, the state does have a brief sandhill crane hunting season in the fall limited to the northwest part of Minnesota, Albert said. The DNR has yet to schedule the coming season.

The sandhill crane is among Minnesota's largest bird species, standing about 5 feet tall with a wingspread of nearly 7 feet. They live in wet meadows and open landscapes. Nests are built on the ground or in shallow water, and both sexes care for their young.

Anyone with information about this incident or any suspected poaching can call the DNR's tip line at 1-800-652-9093. Tips can also be sent by texting MNTip along with the information to 847411.