ORDER OF MARSH-DWELLERS 



Urik'f PiilnJicolu: 



IRDS of this order vary greatly in size and appearance — the Little Black 

 Rail is but five inches long, while the Cranes average about four feet. 

 Structurally all are alike in having the hind toe elevated. Two habits are 

 common to the entire order. The first of these is that of dwelling in marshy 

 places, and the second is that of always flying with the neck extended. The 

 young are hatched with a covering of down and are able to run about soon 

 after leaving the shell, although requiring more or less attention from the 

 parents. 



The order is divided into two suborders: the Long-legged Marsh-dwellers 

 iGriies), which includes two families, the Cranes and the Courlans; and the 



Henlike Marsh-dwellers (Ralli), which consists of the single family of Rails, Gallinules, 



and Coots. 



CRANES AND COURLANS 



Order Palitdicola: ; suborder < fines; families Gniidcv and Aramidcc 



'HOUGH superficially similar to the Herons in some respects, the Cranes con- 

 stitute a distinct group in a difTerent order. They are the family GniiJcc of 

 the Marsh-dwellers and are really more closely related to the Rails than to the 

 Herons. When in flight they may be distinguished from the Herons by their 

 habit of carrying the neck extended at full length. But they are similar to 

 the Herons in having the head more or less bare, while they diff'er from them 

 in that their plumage is dense and compact, rather than loose. The family 

 includes about twenty species, of which only three occur on this continent. 

 Their favorite habitats are marshes and plains, and their diet includes not 

 only frogs, snakes, field mice, and lizards, but grain and considerable vegetable 

 food. Most of the Cranes have singularly loud and resonant cries, this being 

 especially true of the Sandhill Crane. This resonant quality of the Crane's cry is due prob- 

 ably to the curious peculiarity and great length of the bird's windpipe. Though this organ 

 is about normal in the chick just hatched, it becomes elongated and coiled as the bird matures, 

 and is accommodated in the keel of the breastbone. In the Whooping Crane, when this 

 development is complete, nearly thirty inches of the trachea may be thus packed away, 

 and the entire length of the organ, from the throat to the lungs, may be fully five feet. 



Another distinguishing characteristic of the Cranes is the fact that the chicks are cov- 

 ered with down when they are hatched, and are able to run about a few hours after they 

 leave the shell. The American species range over the entire continent as far south as Cuba 

 and Mexico. They are migratory from the northern portions of their range, but less so 

 or not at all in the south. 



The Courlans comprise another family, the Aramldcc, of the Marsh-dwellers. But two 

 species are known: one found in South America, and the other, the Limpkin, in Central 

 America, Mexico, the West Indies, and Florida. 



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