41-6 GKALLATORES. 



ou a bank or stiiiu]) of a ti'ee, in which th(i female hiys 

 two eggs. Cranes may be called omnivorous, as they live 

 indiscriminately upon animal or vegetable substances. 

 Their note is loud and sonorous, but harsh. During their 

 migrations, these birds always fly in two lines, which in 

 front meet in an acute angle, thus forming a figure some- 

 what resembling the Greek letter y, which indeed from 

 this very circumstance is said to have derived its shape ; 

 one of the company, therefore, always flies in advance of 

 the rest, and thus constitutes the vertex of the angle ; 

 and if the movements of the flock are watched, it may 

 I'eadily be observed, that when this individual becomes 

 fatigued by being the first to cleave the air, it falls to the 

 rear, and leaves the next in succession to take its post. 

 It has been noticed, moreover, that when the Cranes, in 

 these their migratory flights, meet with a lofty mountain, 

 they utter shrill cries, appear anxious and restless, and 

 Hy without any kind of order. Gradually, and each for 

 itself, they now ascend spirally until such time as they 

 have attained sufficient lieight to pass over the obstacle, 

 when, assuming their original formation, they proceed on 

 their course. At times their flight is so very high, that, 

 notwithstanding each individual occupies a considerable 

 space, the birds themselves, though heard in the air, are 

 not perceptible to the naked eye. Their shrill, loud, and 

 trum])et-like note is audible far and near, and if at a short 

 distance, is almost deafening. Their voices are rendered 

 more powerful by the peculiar conformation of the wind- 

 pipe, which forms several curvatures in the breast-bone 

 before descending into and joining the lungs. The Crane 

 is a tall and stately bird ; when it stands upright it 

 reaches to the breast of a man, and the wings, when 

 extended, are about seven feet in breadth. It is of a shy 

 and wary disposition ; and when a large flock alight in a 

 field, either for the purpose of feeding or resting, one or 

 more of the party is always seen standing, at some little 

 distance, with head erect, and evidently on the watch. 

 On the approach of danger, this individual is the first to 

 oive the alarm, and to take wing, on which the rest forth- 

 with follow its example. — {Lloyd's '•'■ Scandinavian Adven- 

 tures,^^ vol. ii.) 



While congenial localities still existed, Cranes regularly 

 visited our own island : but cultivation and drainage 



