THE CRANE 



{g/?us CI mere a) 



npHERE can be little doubt that formerly the 

 Crane was one of those species which not only 

 bred in the British Islands, but visited them in 

 considerable numbers to pass the winter. Whether 

 the individuals that bred in Britain were residents 

 does not, however, seem very clear. Possibly these 

 birds came in spring to breed in the British 

 marshes, and retired south again in autumn, their 

 places being taken during the winter by migratory 

 individuals from still more northern haunts, as the 

 Woodcock is thought by many naturalists to do to- 

 day. Whatever were the real facts, there is ample 

 evidence to show that the Crane formerly bred 

 commonly in the British Islands. Its principal 

 strongholds appear to have been the fens and 

 marshes of East Anglia and the bogs and morasses 

 of Ireland. There can be little doubt that the 



Crane began to diminish as a breeding species in 



60 



