536 



GRUID^E. 



fourth, but a little longer than the fifth ; the second and 

 third feathers nearly equal in length, and the longest in 

 the wing. The beak measures four inches and a half; 

 the tarsus nine inches, the bare part of the leg above it 

 four inches. 



The sexes, when old, are alike in plumage, but the males 

 are larger than the females. Young birds have less varia- 

 tion in colour about the head, and the ash-grey plumage of 

 the body is mixed with dull brown. 



