THE CEANE. 671 



scme lights and a lustrous* gokleu hue in others. The back is grey, the feathers being 

 loag and silken and hanging over the wings. The wings, under surface, and tail are 

 blick, and the feathers of the tail are soft and short. 



The (^^AEiAMA is rather larger than the trumpeter, and has many of the same habits. 

 It is chiefly remarkable for the feathery crest on the crowu and forehead. 



TJie ''"ariania is an admirable runner, getting over the ground with astonishing speed, 

 and t u-ning and twisting with such adroit rapidity that even the admirable horsemen of 

 its nai-ve laud find it put their skill to the sharpest test. Not until it is quite wearied 

 out, au'l crouches under a bush or other shelter, does the hunter endeavour to use either 

 rilie or i\sso, the two deadly weapons of his land. The walk of this bird is peculiarly 

 bold and aasy, its paces are long, its lithe neck moves with every step as it continually 

 turns its littw sharp-looking head from side to side, and its full intelligent eyes gleam 

 through their lieavy lashes as tliey survey every object within their ken. The eyes are 

 truly beautiful, ia.rge, round, and translucent, of a clear pearly grey, with many little 

 dark changing spot?., much like the eye of a living dragon-fly. 



It is easily tamed, and soon becomes so attached to its new home that it is accustomed 

 to roam about at will, 8,nd to return to its owner like the common fowl. The nest of this 

 bu-d is placed upon the branches of a rather low tree, it is made of sticks, and generally 

 contains two white eggs. 



The general colour of the ^!ariama is pale brown, with numerous irregular splashes of 

 dark brown. The crest is ahiays held erect, and the feathers of the forehead project 

 slightly over the Ijeak. The wing \si blacker brown than the rest of the body, and is covered 

 with narrow white streaks, dotted with black. The under parts are greyish white, the biU 

 is red, and the legs orange. In total le-jgth it measures about thirty-two inches. 



Although in former days tolerably coni\uon in England, the Ceane has now, with the 

 bustard, almost disappeared from this land, a single specimen being seen at very long and 

 increasing intervals. In some parts of Englana and Ireland the popular name of tlie 

 heron is the Crane, so that the occasional reports whio\\ sometimes find admission into 

 local newspapers respecting the Crane have often reference, not to that bird, but to the 

 lieron. 



The Crane is found in various parts of the continent of Europe, migrating from place 

 to place, and flying in large flocks at a great elevation in the aii. They continue their 

 aerial journeys for great distances, and seldom descend but for the p-.v^nose of feeding. 

 When they alight, it is generally on marshy ground, the banks of rivei'S, or the wasts of 

 the sea, where they can find a bountiful supply of marine and aquatic animals ; ?.nd 

 sometimes they are attracted by a field of newly-sown corn, among which they make 

 sad havoc, stacking up the seed with their long bdls, or eating the newly sprouted blades, 

 The food of the Crane is various, mostly consisting of worms, slugs, frogs, lizards, newts, 

 and similar creatures ; but tlie bird will often feed upon grain and the leaves of different 

 plants. 



The voice of the Crane is loud, resonant, and trumpet-like, and has a singular 

 effect when heard from the great elevation at which tlie bird prefers to fly. The 

 pecidiar resonance of the note is caused by a remarkable structure of the windpipe, which 

 is elongated, and instead of running straight down the neck, passes into the breast^bone, 

 lodges between the two plates of bone which form the keel, and, after making some 

 contortions which vary according to the age of the bird, leaves the breast-bone and 

 proceeds as usual to the lungs. 



The Crane makes its nest mostly on marshy ground, placing it among osiers, reeds, or 

 the heavy vegetation which generally flourishes in such localities. Sometimes, however, 

 it prefers more elevated situations, and will make its nest on the summit of an old deserted 

 ruin. The eggs are two in number, and their colour is light olive, covered with dashes of 

 a deeper hue and brown. The well-known plumes of the Crane are the elongated tertials, 

 with their long drooping loose webs, which, when on the wings of the bird, reach beyond 

 the primaries. 



The forehead, top of the head, and neck are rather dark slaty ash, and a patch of 



