CLASS AVESI ORDER ALECTORIDES. 



149 



ORDER ALECTORIDES. 



Gruidae. The Whooping Crane (see Fig. 253) is princi- 

 pally confined to the Mississippi Valley. It seeks its food in 



Mg. 251. 



Convoluted Trachea of the Crane. 



the wild uplands, feeding upon insects and plants. About 

 thirteen inches of the windpipe are twisted up in a hollow of 

 the breast-bone, thus giving to 

 the voice a sonorous, trumpet-like 

 tone. 



Ballidae. The Eails have 

 more or less pervious nostrils; 

 long, slender toes; a compressed 

 body and short tail. The Vir- 

 ginia Rail * is a type of the genus 

 Rallus, which contains about 

 twenty species. The Purple Gal- 

 linule, abundant in the Southern, 

 but accidental in the Northern 



* Except in being smaller it is almost iden- 

 tical in form and color with E. elegans, thus 



showing the value of size as a specific and die- Eattus virginianus, 



tinctive character. Virginia Bail. . 



