60 GRUS COMMUNIS. 
the day previously*, and which I had known to be Crane’s by the 
fragments of egg which he brought home. I found it precisely lke 
the old nest in lso-uoma [§ 3176], situated upon one of the ridges 
elevated not more than two or three inches above the level of the 
swamp. The nest composed of twigs at the bottom, covered with 
grass and hay, altogether scarcely two inches deep. It is three 
of my spans across in one direction and three and a half in another. 
I take away a bundle of the material. Half of one of the egg-skins 
with fragments of the shell attached is lying in the water near, and 
in the nest are many little bits of egg-shell. There are lying near so 
many feathers, principally large wing-feathers and such, that I almost 
doubt whether some large bird-of-prey has not killed the old Crane, 
the more so as we see no Cranes in this Karto-uoma. The position of 
the nest in the fen is a central one, rather towards the south end of 
it. Upon the ridge grows moss, a little grass, buck-bean, dark bog- 
Potentilla (?), and other things, also the little dwarf birch, not more 
than a foot or so high, with the branches inclined. About one 
hundred yards off are a few scattered birch bushes, eight or ten feet 
high. 
§ 3178. Zwo.—lIso-uoma, 20 May, 1854. “J. W. tpse.” 
©. W. tab. E. 
On Friday afternoon I went with Ludwig by land to Iso-uoma to 
try to find the Crane’s nest, for I believe only one pair frequent it. 
I could not see or hear a bird of the kind, but determined carefully 
to beat over the strips of land westward from Trast-skog (my name), 
where we had found the nest last year [§ 3176]. We marked each 
strip as we entered and as we left it. No encouragement; but at 
last I suddenly saw the two eggs lying on an adjacent strip. They 
were placed parallel to each other, and just so that there would be 
room for a third egg between them. The nest was little more than 
two feet wide, quite flat, made of somewhat matted light-coloured 
grass or hay, about a couple of inches in thickness, and raised only 
two or three inches from the general surface of the swamp. There 
was higher ground close by, and many spots apparently more 
convenient in the immediate neighbourhood. It was just at the edge 
and rather under cover of the strip. There was no tree or bush very 
* “When I was not with the party.” 
