178 



ALECTORIDES. 



GRUID^. 



GRUIDM. 



Geus communis, Bechstein.* 



THE COMMON CKANE. 



Grns cinerea. 



Grcs, Sechsteinf. — Beak longer than the head, straight, strong, compressed, 

 and pointed. Nostrils placed longitudinally in a furrow, large, pervious, closed 

 posteriorly by a membrane. Legs long, strong, naked above the joint ; three 

 toes in front ; middle toe united to the outer toe by a membrane ; hind toe 

 articulated high up on the tarsus. Wings moderate, rounded in form ; the 

 first quill-feather shorter than the second ; the third the longest in the wing. 



* Vog. Deutschl. iii. p. 60 (1793). t loc cit. 



