52 



AN AUSTRALIAN BIRD BOOK. 



ORDER XT — GRUIFORMES. 



F. 43. GRUIDAE fl), CRANES, 19 sp.— 1(1)A., 8(2)0., 



9(1)P., 7(5)E., 8(0)Nc.. 2(0)N1. 

 1 111 Australian Orane, Native Companion, Brolga, Anti- 

 3 gone australasiana, A. Nom. r. plains 42 



Deep silvery-gray; wing-quills black: naked red patch 

 about face, throat; legs, feet black; f., smaller. In- 

 sects, lizards, bulbous roots, seeds, 

 F. 44. Aramidae, Courlans, Limpkin, 2 sp. — 1(0) Nc, 

 2(1)N1. 



As no Bustard occurs in the regions between Australia and India, 

 this bird supplies a good example of what is known to zoo- 

 geographers as "discontinuous distribution." "Discontinuous 

 distribution," as applied to land animals, e.g., marsupials found 

 in America and Australia, ratite birds in South America, South 

 Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, or the tapir, found in Cen- 

 tral America and Malaysia, implies a land connexion (not neces- 

 sarily complete at any one period) to allow of the gradual spread 

 of the animals. Of course, as flying birds can pass easily from 

 one region to another, "discontinuous distribution," as applied to 

 them, cannot have so much importance attached to it as indicat- 

 ing previous land connexions. 



Australia, fortunately, has one representative of Order XI. — 

 Cranes. This is the Native Companion, the only true Crane found 

 In Australia. These are interesting birds, with their "quadrille 



