GKUID.E. 



(JHYI.I.in.K. 



nil 



Balearic Crane u according with this ipecim in thin particular, and by 

 the additional character of the naked cheeks and caruncle under the 

 chin, u exhibiting a still nearer approach to the true UIMI. A. Virgo, 

 on the other hand, by the (light development of the hallux, appear* 

 to him to posM** the nearest affinity of all the birds ill the group to 

 tiu> Ckaradnada. 



"In mannert and gestures," says Mr. Vigors, "the Anthropoid* 

 fUanlryanmt appean to conform moat intimately with the Demoiselle, 

 displaying the aune delicacy and elegance of attitude, and the same 

 majesty, together with the aame graceful playfulnesa in all its move- 

 ment*. I once had the good fortune to aee it when released from the 



bounded into the air, and traversed the yard with singular velocity, 

 and a peculiarity of motion which could neither be termed running 

 nor flying : with its wings expanded, and its long quill-feathers 

 streaming just above the ground, it sailed and swept along the opn 

 space without regard to the numerous spectators who watched its 

 movements, luxuriating in all the buoyancy and excursiveness of new- 

 felt liberty. I understand that it is particularly eager in its pursuit 

 after insects, which it takes when they are upon the wing ; and that 

 they seem to be iU natural and most acceptable food. We may 

 readily conceive what myriads of winged creatures it would encircle 

 within its wings as it swept along its native marshes, in the manner 

 observed above, and which it would thus bring within the compass of 

 iU prey." (' ZooL Joum.,' voL ii.) 



This beautiful bird is an inhabitant of the East Indies. 



A.paroninut, Vieillot (Balearica paronina, Brisson ; Ardea paronina 

 of Linnaeus), the Balearic or Crowned Crane, received its English and 

 French common name from its being supposed to be the Balearic 

 Crane of the ancient*. Its height when full grown is about 4 feet. 

 Wo select Mr. Bennett's description : " Its plumage is of a bluish- 

 slate colour on the neck and on both surfaces of the body ; the quill- 

 feathers of the tail and the primaries of the wings are of a beautiful 

 black ; the secondaries, which extend beyond the base of the tail, of 

 a bright and glossy-brown ; and the wing-coverts pure white. The 

 cheeks and temples are entirely naked, and are coloured of a bright 

 rosy-red, which sometimes overspreads the whole of the naked 

 surface, and sometimes is confined to a portion of it, the remainder in 

 this latter case becoming perfectly colourless and of a dull white. 

 Beneath the upper part of the throat a similar naked space is gradu- 

 ally developed, which terminates in a dependent fold of the skin, like 

 the wattle of a turkey, but more uniform on its surface, and of a 

 brilliant rod. .As this prolongation U not always met wit, it has been 



Crowned Crane (.Inlkiufvultt par<iinM). 



considered by some writers as a mark of sex ; but of the two birds 

 examined by the French academicians, the one ponsessed it and the 

 othrr not, and yet both were females ; it may therefore with greater 

 probability be considered as the result of age. The fore part of the 

 head in covered by a close tuft of short, smooth, even, velvety feathers 

 of a deep black ; and behind them rises a very remarkable creat, con- 

 siting of a Inr.-e number of flat yellowish filaments, each twisted 

 spirally on itself, fringed along iU ed^es with a series of block-pointed 



hairs, and terminating in a blackish |>enciL These filaments are of 

 nearly uniform length, and measure 4 or 5 inches from base to tip. 

 They take their origin from a roundish space on the back of the head, 

 and expand equally at their extremities into a circle of considerably 

 larger diameter than the head itself. The bill, logs, and feet are of 

 a dusky-black ; and the iris is remarkable for being almost destitute 

 of colour. As in most of the birds of this family, the feathers of 

 the lower part of the neck are long, narrow, and gracefully dependent 

 over the breast." 



This description is so good in the main that we have given it in the 

 author's own words ; but his observations with regard to the wattle 

 require confirmation. Indeed, he himself, as secretary to the Zoologi- 

 cal Society, subsequently brought under the notice of a meet- 

 ing of its members, specimens from the Society's museum, of Crowned 

 Cranes from Northern and from Southern Africa, with the view of 

 illustrating the characters which distinguish as species the birds from 

 those several localities. Their specific distinction, he stated, on the 

 authority of Professor Lichteustein, had been pointed out, nearly 30 

 years from that time, by the professor's father, who gave to the Cape 

 bird the name of Grtu Jltyulorum. This distinction had not however, 

 Mr. Bennett remarks, been generally known among ornithologists, 

 although to those connected with the Society it had for some time 

 been familiar, from observation both of numerous skins and of living 

 individuals. In the bird of North Africa, for which the specific name 

 of 1'uroiiinui will be retained, the wattle is small, and there is much 

 red occupying the lower two-thirds of the naked cheeks : in that of 

 South Africa the wattle is large, and the cheeks are white, except in 

 a small space at their upper part ; the neck also U of a much paler 

 slate-colour than that of the North African species. Mr. Bennett 

 added that the latter characters had been observed to be permanent 

 in an individual presented to the Society in April 1829, from the collec- 

 tion of the late Marchioness of Londonderry, then still living at the 

 Umlcns. They existed also in both the individuals presented by Sir 

 Ixiwry Colo. 



Dr. J. E. Gray remarks, that the oval form of the nostrils in the 

 Crowned Crones, added to other distinguishing characters which had 

 Mtly been pointed out, might be regarded as indicating a generic 

 difference between them and the Demoiselle and Stanley Cranes, in 

 which the nostrils have the lengthened form usual in the genus tiria, 

 a genus from which they scarcely diller, except in the comparative 

 shortness of their bill. For the group including the Crowned Cranes 

 the name of Jialeurica might, he thought, be retained, and that of 

 .1 ntlirupoidei be appropriated to the one comprehending Anthropoid** 

 Yu-go, Vicill., and A. Parmluoeut, Bechst ('ZooL Proc,') 



The species with the small wattle and other differences will, accord- 

 ing to this proposition, stand as Balearica pavonina. It is a native of 

 Northern and Western Africa. 



The species with the large wattle, &c., will stand as Baltarica 

 loitim. It is found in Southern Africa. 



These birds are presumed to be migratory ; but little U known of 

 them, except in captivity, to which the birds are easily reconciled, 

 living in friendship with the domestic poultry, and other captives, 

 and even, as we have heard, interfering to prevent disputes. In a 

 state of nature they are said to frequent swampy places, and to subsist 

 partly upon fishes, worms, and insects, and partly on vegetable 

 substances. They run with the wings expanded, and with great 

 rapidity. Their note is loud, trumpet-like, and hoarse. In the 

 catalogue of the African Museum, one of the species, there called the 

 Kaffir Crane, is said to be held sacred by the Kaffirs bordering upon 

 the Cape Colony ; and if one should happen to be killed, even by 

 accident, a calf or young cow must be slaughtered as on atonement. 

 Mr. SwaiuKou (' Classification of Birds') notices specimens of Anita 

 pavonina, Linn., as having been brought to him when in Malta, from 

 the little inland of Lampidosa, where, he says, they are by no means 



:l. '. 



Our English readers will find moat of the birds above described 

 living in the Gardens of the Zoological Society in the Regent's Park, 

 many others of this very fine family of buds. 



The bird called the Adjutant Crane, belongs to the family Ardeida. 

 It is the Ciconia Aryitla of naturalists. [Cicu.MA.j 



(iHl'INA'I.KS, a name given by Linuteus to the natural order of 

 Plants now called Ucraniucetr, 



(.iUL'MIXAMKIUA, a Plant belonging to tho natural 

 JfwtMMt yields a fruit which U spoken of by Mortius as excellent 

 eating. 



<il[ V 1,1,1 IX*: (Aclutida, Leach), a family of Insects belonging to 

 the order A'europtera. Distinguishing characters : Thighs of pos- 

 terior legs large ; tibia' armed with spines ; abdomen terminated by 

 two long and slender fleshy appendages ; tarsi of the anterior and 

 intermediate pairs of legs 3-jointed; antenna) usually long and 

 .cetaceous. 



The three principal genera contained in this family arc '.injllw, 



/;.<i, ami T.-iiliiclylv. In the genus (iryllut the anterior tarsi 



are simple; the labial palpi are short; the anal appendages are long 



and slender, thickest at the base and pointed at the apex ; the elytra 



in the females are studded with minute nervures which cross each 



I other in an oblique manner; in the males the nervures are lessnuiner- 



I ous and irregularly disposed ; the wings are longer than the elytra, 



