Whem Sam is being pursued by the gunman in the yellow jacket, at about 45:12 he climbs up some barrels to scale a wall, and in doing so knocks a small yellow drum from the top. As the gunman reaches the wall, at about 45:21 the yellow drum can be seen still sitting atop the barrels, then when the shot changes and the gunman climbs the barrels himself, the yellow drum is back on the ground.
When pursuing the hit man "Needles", Sam describes him to a hotel bellboy as wearing a yellow jacket and a blue cap. At no point is Needles seen wearing a blue cap, although he does manage to shake off his pursuer by mingling with a group of people wearing such a uniform. However, Sam only sees them after giving the description.
The rare Siberian bird from which the title of the film comes from is actually a Crowned Crane native to Africa.
Inspecting the first crime scene, the Inspector admonishes Sam to not touch anything. Yet shortly after, the Inspector touches the staircase bannister which leads to the discovery of a blood-stained glove.
Language: It's never explained whether Dalmas speaks fluent Italian, or whether all the Italians (including the imprisoned pimp) speak fluent English. Furthermore, while all of the featured magazines, newspapers, street signs are in Italian, some letters and the computer print-out at the forensics lab is for some reason in English.
When Sam enters the antique shop and tells the shopkeeper he'd like to see something, his mouth isn't moving.
At Wilkinson foundation near the beginning of the movie, the silhouette of a cameraman can be seen in the displays glass.
At one point when being questioned by the police, Sam proclaims that he would like to speak to his consulate. However, as the story takes place in Rome, which is Italy's capital city, it would be more correct to say that he would like to speak to someone from his embassy.