THE GIGANTIC CRANE. 



iJ 



this pouch is not correct ; it having been ascertained, that this 

 bag is not at all connected with the gullet, and has therefore 

 no reference to food, but is merely an air-vessel on a very large 

 scale, employed in sustaining the bird in its lofty soaring 

 flights.* When the dense vapours of the rainy months are 

 dispersed, and the sun has again burst forth with undiminished 

 fervour on the Indian plains, the Hurgilas are observed to 

 avoid the sultry heat of the lower regions, by taking refuge in 

 the higher, rising gradually till they appear mere specks in the 



The Gigantic Crane. 



firmament, or entirely lost to the sight. In the hot months, 

 when not a cloud obscures the vault of the heavens, hundreds 

 of these gigantic birds may be seen performing their graceful 

 evolutions, and wheeling majestically at a vast height, enabled 

 to remain in so thin an atmosphere, most probably, by the 

 supply of air collected in this bag. 



* It appears to be analogous to the pouch of the Emu, and applicable 

 in part to similar purposes. See p. 295. 



