WADERS. 



OF THE HERON TEIBE IN GENERAL. 



In the "Waders (or Grallce of Linnaeus) the bill is somewhat cylm 

 drical. The thighs are feathered only half-way to the knees ; and the 

 legs are longish, and formed for walking. 



The characters of the tribe are : a long, strong, and sharp-pointed 

 bill ; linear nostrils, and pointed tongue : toes connected by a mem- 

 brane as far as the first joint : and the middle claw, in some of the 

 species, pectinated, 



The difl'erent kinds of Herons are very numerous, amounting in the 

 whole to nearly a hundred. They are found in various parts of the 

 world, but chiefly in temperate and hot climates. Several of them are 

 migratory. They have long feet and necks, and live almost wholly on 

 amphibious animals and fishes. 



THE COMMON CRANE. 



This is a large bird, measuring upwards of five feet in Itir^ih. The 

 bill is more than four inches long. The plumage is, in general, ash- 

 colored : but the forehead is black ; and the sides of the head, behind 

 the eyes, and the hind part of the neck, are white ; on the upper part 

 of the neck there is a bare ash-colored space of two inches ; and, above 

 this, the skin is naked and red, with a few scattered hairs. Some parts 

 about the wings are blackish. Erom the pinion of each wing springs 

 an elegant tuft of loose feathers, curled at the ends ; which can be erec- 

 ted at will, but which in a quiescent state hangs over and covers the 

 tail. The legs are black. 



These birds are seen in numerous flocks in all the northern parts 

 of Europe. We are told that they make their nests in marshes, and 

 lay two bluish eggs. They feed on reptiles of all kinds, and on some 

 species of vegetables ; while corn is green, they are said to make such 

 havoc in the fields as to ruin the farmers, where ever the flocks alight. 



They are migratory; returning northward in the spring, (where 

 they generally make choice of the places which they occupied dur- 

 ing the preceding season,) and in the winter inhabiting the warmer 

 regions of Egypt and India. They fly very high, and arraijge them- 

 selves in the form of a triangle, the better to cleave the air. When 

 the wind freshens, and threatens to break their ranks, they collect 

 their force into a circle; and they adopt the same disposition when 

 attacked by powerful birds of prey. Their migratory voyages are 

 chiefly performed in the night; but their loua screams betray their 

 course. During these nocturnal expeditions the leader frequently 

 zalls, in order to rally his forces, and to point out the track: and th« 



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