50 BIRDS OF NELSON COUNTY. 



the first two or three days it was quite amusing to watch 

 the other fowls sidle off when the Coots came up for their 

 rations. The nearest water was a spring branch a hun- 

 dred yards distant, which they regularly visited two or 

 three times a day. They remained all summer, a^Dpar- 

 ently perfectly satisfied with their humdrum domestic 

 life, but in September they wandered off, probably im- 

 pelled by the migratory instinct. An account of these 

 two birds was published in Forest and Stream in July, 

 1881. 



Family GRXJIDiE : Cranes. 



Genus Grus. 



163. Grus americana, (Linn.). Whooping Crane. 



Mr. E. E. McKay informs me that many years ago he ob- 

 served this bird near Bloomfield in this county. 



164. Qrus me^icana(M.\ji,i,.). Sandhill Crane. 



Inserted on the authority of Mr. E. E. McKay, who has 

 frequently seen it on the Beech Fork of Salt River in this 

 county. 



Order ANSERES. 

 Family ANATID.^ : Swans, Geese and Ducks. 



Genus Branta. 



165. Branta canadensis (Linn.). Canada Goose. "Wild 

 Goose." 

 Rather common in the air ; but very few are seen on terra 

 firma in these parts. 



