200 



BIRDS OF AMERICA 



It feeds on frogs, fish, small iiianinials, and in- 

 sects, and is said to take corn and other cereals 

 and the succulent roots of vvater-])lants. 



Nuttall, describing the flights of the Whoop- 

 ing Crane up the Mississippi valley in December. 

 1811. says, " that the bustle of their great migra- 

 tions and the passage of their mighty armies 

 fills the mind with wonder." It seemed, he says, 

 as though the whole continent was giving uji its 

 (|Uota of the species to swell this mighty host, 

 and the clangor of their numerous legions, pass- 

 ing high in air, was almost deafening. His state- 



ment, that this great host of Cranes was passing 

 nearly all night, will give some idea of the im- 

 mensity of this great flight. 



The Whooping Crane is doomed to extinction. 

 It has disappeared from its former habitat in the 

 East and is now found only in uninhabited 

 jilaces. It can hardly be said to be common any- 

 where except ])erhaps locally in the far North. 

 Only its extreme watchfulness has saved thus 

 far the remnant of its once great host. 



Edward Howe Forbush, in Game Birds, 

 Wild-Fozi'l and Shore Birds. 



SANDHILL CRANE 

 Grus mexicana (Miiller) 



A. O. U. XuTiiber 206 ,^{'e Color I'late 24 



Other Names. — Brown Crane; Upland Crane; Field 

 Crane; Southern .Sandhill Crane. 



General Description. — Length, 4 feet; spread of 

 wings, 6I2 feet. Plumage, slaty-gray. Head with hare 

 spot forking behind, not reaching on sides below eyes, 

 and thinly sprinkled with hair. 



Color. — Adults; Plumage, slaty-gray: primaries 

 and their coverts, ashy-gray but little darker than 

 general color ; cheeks and throat, lighter inclined to 

 whitish; bill and feet, black; iris, brown. YouNc, : 

 Head, feathered. Plumage, variegated with rusty and 

 brown. 



Nest and Eggs. — Nest: On the ground, usually 



iin a slight knoll of open grassy flats; generally a mere 

 depression in the ground, lined with dry grass and weed 

 stems. EcGS : 2. from pale olive to bufify-brown, 

 marked over entire surface with spots of burnt-umber. 

 Distribution. — North America ; resident in Louisi- 

 ana and Florida ; bred formerly from southern British 

 Columbia, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and western 

 Ontario south to California, Colorado, Nebraska, 

 Illinois, and Ohio; formerly in migration east to New 

 England ; now rare east of the Mississippi, except in 

 F'lorida. and rare as a breeder in the southern half of 

 its former breeding range; winters from California, 

 Texas, and Louisiana south to Mexico. 



The virtual extermination, or at best the ex- 

 treme rarity, of the great Whooping Crane, 

 leaves the much smaller .Sandhill Crane by far 

 the largest representative of that interesting 

 family in America. For it should be remembered 

 that the various Herons — notably the Great 

 Blue Heron — which are commonly called 

 " Cranes," not only are not Cranes at all, but 

 differ radically from them in both disposition and 

 habits. 



If not in size, then in its conspicuous and strik- 

 ing characteristics, the Sandhill Crane is a fit 

 successor to his towering relative, whose davs 

 seem to be numbered. Nor is the bird a weak- 

 ling at that, for the height of the male when he 

 stands erect is nearly that of a man of average 

 stature, while the bird's great wings carry his 

 compact and muscular body with ])erfect ease and 

 at a high speed. The bird's wariness bespeaks 

 intelligent caution rather than weakness or fear. 



Indeed, when the Sandhill Crane is crippled by a 

 broken wing or otherwise, he may become an 

 exceedingly ugly antagonist for the man who at- 

 tempts to overpower him, because of the skill, 

 strength, and quickness with which he will then 

 employ his long and dagger-like bill in defend- 

 ing himself. Many a hunter's dog has been 

 blinded or otherwise badly injured by the vicious 

 thrusts of this very dangerous weapon, which 

 the Crane does not hesitate to use when he is at 

 bay and fighting for his life. 



Unlike the Herons, this Crane spends much of 

 its time, and gets tlie food which it seems to relish, 

 most, on dry land. Hence it is often foinid on 

 the plains and prairies, sometimes in small flocks 

 but oftener in pairs or singly. Its diet includes 

 a large percentage of roots, bulbs, grains, and the 

 like ; and it is especially fond of corn which it 

 takes from the shock. Insects, frogs, lizards, 

 snakes, and mice are also included iri its bill of 



