THE CRANES 



2233 



terminal half, by the naked forehead, cheeks, and crown, and the general gray hue 

 of the plumage. The naked part of the crown is reddish, the sides of the face and 

 neck are white, and the elongated secondaries black. Young birds are nearly 

 uniformly colored. In length, full-grown specimens measure from forty-three to 

 forty-eight inches. The crane is widely distributed over Europe and Central and 

 Northern Asia, visiting India, Persia, South China, and Northern Africa in winter, 

 and passing through Japan on its migrations. Its breeding range extends from the 

 Arctic Circle in Western Siberia, to Italy and the Danube valley. In North Amer- 

 ica this species is represented by the brown crane (G. canadensis}. Cranes usually 

 reach their breeding grounds in Central Europe from the south at the end of March 

 or April, while a month later they arrive in the Arctic regions. At all times gre- 

 garious, they migrate in vast flocks, which fly during the day at a great height in 

 the air in a V- or W-shaped formation, each bird having its long legs stretched out 

 behind. Writing of the flight of the American species Dr. Newberry observes that, 

 under the orders of an experienced leader, ' ' each bird keeps his place in the ranks; the 

 advancing column now rides higher over some suspected spot, now falls along an 

 open sandy reach, swaying meanwhile to the right or left. As it passes on, the 

 individual birds are blended in the hazy distance, till, just before lost to view, the 

 line becomes like an immense serpent gliding mysteriously through the air. When 

 about to alight, fearful lest the shadows of the woods harbor unseen dangers, the 

 cranes pass by the leafy in- 

 tricacies where the ibises and 

 other less suspicious birds feed, 

 and choose a spot for the 

 advantages it may offer of 

 uninterrupted vision. By nature 

 one of the most wary and 

 discreet of birds, his experience 

 has taught the crane to value 

 this gift and put it to the best 

 use. His vigilance is rarely 

 relaxed, even when he is feeding, 

 where less thoughtful birds would 

 feel perfectly secure." This 

 wariness renders the crane an 

 exceedingly-difficult bird to shoot; 

 although the flocks frequenting 

 the sand banks of the Indian 

 rivers may be readily approached 

 in a boat, to the passing of which 

 they are indifferent. Cranes feed 

 regularly in the early morning, 



and also at other times in the day, and at night; while the vast quantity of grain a 

 flock will consume, renders their visits by no means welcome to the cultivator. In 

 sleeping, they invariably stand upon one leg, with the head and neck thrust in 



COMMON CRANK. 



