56 On the trail of vanishing birds 



calls, her less piercing tone following his by a fraction of a second, 

 so that the two voices together produced vibrating, shrill, almost 

 reedlike notes. The other whoopers, a full half mile or more away, 

 usually sent back an answering challenge, but it was a halfhearted 

 affair and mere bravado, for the next thing I saw was two white 

 forms retreating through the tall grass and moving back into their 

 own kingdom. 



The pairs that were proudly rearing a youngster had stronger 

 and far more assertive characteristics than those that had returned 

 from the North emptyhanded, if that term is permissible with 

 reference to a bird. The added stimulation of being responsible 

 for the protection and general welfare of offspring seemed to call 

 forth all of their powers and keep them at top pitch. At this time 

 in its early life the young bird followed the female wherever she 

 went, and it was she who fed it dainty morsels a wonderful sight 

 when it was almost as tall as she and taught it eventually to probe 

 the mud on its own. In her turn the female's behavior in most 

 other matters patterned itself after that of the male, when and 

 if the necessity for a temporary break in the endless feeding rou- 

 tine developed. Otherwise she and the young bird walked here and 

 there, searching the pond for crabs, worms, fishes, or mud shrimps, 

 while father, ever alert and constantly suspicious, raised his head 

 every half minute or so to scan the horizon for signs of trespassers 

 or other dangers. 



Now and then a couple of hapless cranes would blunder so 

 far across the line into Middle Family's territory that papa went 

 after them in the same moment that he threw out his first shrill 

 challenge. It was a sight to see! In early January, when the blue 

 flowers of the salt-flat cranberry (Lycium) were in bloom, terri- 

 torial frictions were at their peak, though the flowers had nothing 

 to do with it. The cranes had been engaging in prenuptial dances 

 since mid-December, and the bond between each well-established 

 pair, while seemingly never a casual one, was in the process of be- 

 ing cemented anew. When the male sighted a violation of his 

 boundaries he stood up as tall as he could stretch, his bill pointing 

 straight upward, and turned loose an ear-shattering call. The fe- 

 male, head up, joined in, while the youngster, looking startled, 



