250 BULLETIN 135, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM 



oppoilunities to practice patience, skill, and ingenuity in outwitting 

 them. In the open places where they live they can exercise to the 

 best advantage their keen eyesight and acute sense of hearing. They 

 are constantly on the alert to detect the slighest movement or sound 

 and are suspicious of everything new or strange. In proportion to 

 their size their flight is slow and steady; so they are not difficult to 

 hit; but it is a real problem to get them to come near enough to 

 shoot. For a good account of the difficulties to be encountered I 

 would refer the reader to Mr. Laing's (1915) interesting paper, re- 

 ferred to above, relating his adventures while hunting cranes with a 

 camera, in which he was finally successful. 



The best places for hunting cranes are the big grain fields of the 

 prairie regions, after the crops have been harvested in the fall, to 

 which the cranes resort at certain hours during the day, early morning, 

 and late afternoon, to feed on the fallen grain, wheat, barley, or corn 

 among the stubble. Sometimes a pit is dug in the ground, such as is 

 used for goose shooting, but this must be artfully concealed to es- 

 cape detection. Better success can be had by utilizing, as a blind, 

 one of the numerous corn shocks left standing in some corn field 

 which the cranes are frequenting. The hunter must be well concealed 

 in his blind long before daylight and wait quietly and patiently 

 for his best chance, for he is not likely to have more than one. The 

 crafty, old scouts are sure to inspect the field critically before report- 

 ing that it is safe for the main flight to come in. Their system of 

 sentinels and patrols is most complete and very efficient. If the hunter 

 succeeds in outwitting them all and brings to bag one or two of the 

 big birds, fattened on ripe grain, he will be rewarded with a feast 

 worthy of his efforts. 



DISTRIBUTION 



The ranges of the two forms proposed by Mr. Peters (1925) are 

 given separately below, under the new names used by him. Both 

 are here treated as subspecies of the little brown crane, which is 

 probably correct. 



MEGALORNIS CANADENSIS MEXICANUS 



^an^fg.— Southern Canada, the United States, and Mexico. 



Breeding range. — North to British Columbia (158-mile House and 

 Lac la Ilache) ; Alberta (Innisfail) ; Saskatchewan (Big Quill Lake, 

 Balgonie and Kutanajan Lake) ; Manitoba (Shell River, Oak Point, 

 Crescent Lake, and Ossawo) ; Minnesota (Herman, Elk River, and 

 probably Lake Minnetonka) ; Wisconsin (Plover, Marquette, and 

 Peshtigo); Michigan (Taquamenou River. Vans Harbor, Sheldrake 

 Lake, Morrice, and Petersburg) ; and Ontario (Rond Eau). East to 

 Ontario (Rond Kau); and Ohio (near Toledo). South to Nebraska 



