78 CRANES 



peats its name. True to their more dignified appellation, the herons 

 feed mainly at night, but they are seen on the wing occasionally dur- 

 ing the day. 



Social at all times, they are especially so during the breeding 

 season, nesting in small groups of three or four families to a tree, or 

 in colonies numbering many thousands. The largest colonies usually 

 have their nests on the ground, in tule swamps or reed patches, the 

 nests, which are only a few feet apart, covering many acres. 



VERNON BAILEY. 



Subgenus Nyctanassa. 



203. Nycticorax violaceus (Linn.). YELLOW-CROWNED NIGHT 

 HERON. 



Bill much shorter than tarsus ; back with long narrow plume-like 

 feathers reaching beyond end of tail. Adults : crown and patch under 

 eye creamy white ; sides of head and chin black ; rest of plumage bluish 

 gray, striped with black and light gray on wings and back. Young : 

 striped and mottled with brownish on back and belly. Length : 22-28, 

 wing 10.50-12.65, bill 2.50-3.00, tarsus 3.10-4.20. 



Distribution. Tropical America and north to the Carolinas and Colo- 

 rado, and casually to Massachusetts and Maine ; south to Brazil. 



Nest. In trees, a platform of sticks. Eggs : 4 to 6, dull bluish. 



ORDER PALUDICOL,^ : CRANES, RAILS, ETC. 

 FAMILY GRUID^E: CRANES. 



GENUS GRUS. 



General Characters. Size very large, hind toe short and elevated ; 

 head partly naked, the warty skin covered with scattered bristly hairs. 



KEY TO SPECIES. 



1. Crown and cheeks naked in adults ; plumage white. 



americana, p. 78. 

 1'. Crown naked in adults, cheeks feathered ; plumage gray and brown. 



2. Larger, wing 21.00-22.50 mexicana, p. 79. 



2'. Smaller, wing 17.50-20.00 canadensis, p. 79. 



204. Grus americana (Linn.}. WHOOPING CRANE. 



Adults. Plumage pure white except for black primaries and their cov- 

 erts, and sometimes a slaty patch on back of head ; naked skin of crown, 

 face, and cheeks with stiff black bristles. Young: mainly white, but 

 more or less washed with brownish on upper parts ; head entirely feath- 

 ered. Length: 50-54, wing 22-25, bill 5.35-5.80, tarsus 11-12. 



Distribution. Interior of North America, breeding from Illinois west 

 to Colorado ; north to Great Slave Lake, and migrating to central Mexico. 



Nest. On ground, usually in marsh. Eggs : 2, olive or buffy, spotted 

 with brown and gray. 



