THE SANDHILL CRANE. 621 



In fligiit these Cranes flap, with laborious majesty, being heavy upon the 

 wing. They move in single file with an old male in the lead, or else flank 

 liim on either side, forming thus great V's or LT"s. In starting, the\' leap 

 to wing with a great efi^ort, and require a number of widening circles in 

 which to get fairly under way. 



In the spring these gracefully ungainly birds indulge in curious antics 

 of courtship. The male bows with outstretched wings and nearl\- touches 

 the ground with his beak in the extremity of his de\-otion. The female 

 returns the bow Avith respect quite as profound, and then the_\- indulge an 

 absurd minuet, swaying, dancing, leaping, and executing high kicks with 

 an entrancing degree of awkwardness. There is no privacy about this phase 

 of courtship, and twenty birds at once may join the giddv whirl which 

 seals the fate of so many young hearts. 



Perhaps it was a young bird I once saw, in August, adventuring to 

 wade at the edge of the Yakima River. The bed of the stream was covered 

 with rounded stones, among which the young Crane made poor shift. Once 

 he stumbled outright and fell souse into the water; after wdiich he made 

 off with ver}- uncranely language on his mandibles. On the other hand I 

 have seen Cranes alight in fir-trees on Puget Sound, and manage it quite 

 nicely. There is reason to believe that arboreal life plays a larger and larger 

 part in the stealthy domestic economy of birds on the ^^^est-side. 



Prior to leaving the breeding grounds for the winter seasDU, the 

 Cranes are said to assemble for a state!}- ])romenade. which is the "swell" 

 function of the }-ear. WHien the clan is fully assembled, and after much 

 preliminary sociabilit}-, the great company takes to wing and rises in ma- 

 jestic circles. These spirals are continued until a considerable height is 

 attained with a great ado of sonorous croaking, a solemn lea\e-taking of 

 the happy scenes of yotith, after which the birds move southward. 



Sandhill Cranes are to be f(_iun(l, not onl}- in the bunch-grass hills 

 and sage-covered uplands, but in mountain meadows of both the Cascade 

 and Olympic Mountains, and upon the lesser prairies which dot the western 

 forest. 



Their food consists of grasshoppers, crickets, beetles, lizards, snakes, 

 and young sage-rats, supplemented in season by some of the hardier berries. 

 It requires but a moment's reflection to see that the birds are highly useful. 

 Indeed, Nelson tells us that the nati\'es at the mouth of the Yukon raise the 

 young of the related species, G. canadensis, and keep them about camp be- 

 cause of their usefulness in keeping down vermin. 



