534 GRITS CANADENSIS, SANDHILL CRANE. 



soniuling screams, suggested the i)resence of the human inhabitants of 

 the region, whose territory was now, for the first time, invaded by the 

 white man. The Cranes nest in these alpine meadows, and retreat to 

 the miUler climate of the valleys of California on the approach of winter. 

 In Oregon they begin to move southward in October." 



Thousands of Sandhill Cranes repair each year to the Colorado Eiver 

 Valley, llock succeeding tlock along the course of the great stream, from 

 their arrival in September until their departure the following spring. 

 Taller than the Wood Ibises or the largest Herons with which they are 

 associated, the stately birds stand in the foreground of the scenery of 

 the valley, the water now reliecting the shadow of their broad wings, 

 then the clear blue sky exhibiting in outline their commanding forms. 

 Such i)onderous bodies, moving with slowly-beating wings, give a great 

 idea of momentum from mere weight — of force of motion without swift- 

 ness ; for they plod along heavily, seeming to need every inch of their 

 ample wings to su.stain themselves. One would think they must soon 

 alight fatigued with such exertion, but the raucous cries continue, and 

 the birds fly on for miles along the tortuous stream, in Indian file, under 

 some trusty leader, who croaks his hoarse orders, implicitly obeyed. 

 Each bird keeps his place in the ranks; the advancing column now 

 rises higher over some suspected spot, now falls along an open, sandy 

 reach, swaying meanwhile to the right or left. As it passes on, the in- 

 dividual birds are blended in the hazy distance, till, just before lost to 

 view, the line becomes like an immense serpent gliding mysteriously 

 through the air. When about to alight, fearful lest the shadows of the 

 woods harbor unseen danger, the Cranes pass by the leafy intricacies 

 where the Ibises and other less suspicious birds feed, and choose a spot 

 for the advantage it may offer of uninterrupted vision. By nature one 

 of the most wary and discreet of birds, his exi)erience has taught the 

 Crane to value this gift and put it to the best use. His vigilance is 

 rarely relaxed, even when he is feeding where less thoughtful birds 

 would feel iierfectly secure. After almost every bending of his long 

 neck to the ground, he rises erect again, and at full length glances 

 keenly on every side. He may resume his repast, but should so much 

 as a sjieck he cannot account for ai^pear to view, he stands motion- 

 less, all attention. Now let the least sound or movement batray an 

 unwelcome visitor — he bends his muscular thighs, spreads his ample 

 wings, and springs heavily into the air, croaking dismally in warning to 

 all his kind within the far-reaching sound of his voice. 



The eggs of the Sandhill Crane are of the same general character as 

 those of G. amcricana, in texture of shell, its color, and markings, but, 

 to judge from limited comiiarisons, are usually more elongate, if not also 

 somewhat less capacious— 3.80 by 2.60; 3.90 by 2.G0; 4.10 by 2.40 (long 

 and narrow) ; 3.65 by 2.10 ; the latter remarkably small, as well as 

 unusually narrow. Eggs are in the collection from Liverpool Bay, on 

 the Arctic coast; from Great Slave Lake; from Washington Territory; 

 Fort Crook, California; Lake Simpson, Utah ; Iowa, Florida, and Cuba, 

 They cannot be positively distinguished, in any given instance, from 

 those of G. americana. 



Family RALLID/E : Eails. 



Subfamily EallinvIi;: True Bails. 



The Rails inhabit all temperate couutriefe; they are remarkably distinffuished by the 

 extreme narrowness or compression of the bodj', which enables them to thread a way 

 through the closest reeds and rushes of the marshes where they always live. Instead 



