156 



of Natural 



approach the turkey in size and grandeur of 

 appearance. They live in the woods, feed 

 on berries, &c., and build on trees ; but they 

 are easily domesticated, and their flesh is 

 exceeded by no fowl in delicacy and white- 

 ness. [See CURASSOW.] 

 CRACTICUS. [See CROW SHRIKE.] 



CRAKE. The CORN-CRAKE, or LAND- 

 RAIL, (Ortygometra crex), which is very 

 similar to the Water-rail, is fond of woody 

 places, and high herbage or corn-fields in 

 the vicinity of water, or in marshy places, 

 where it breeds ; making its nest of a few 

 dry plants, put carelessly together, and lay- 

 ing ten or twelve eggs of a dull white, marked 

 with rust-colour spots. The bill is short, 

 strong, and thick ; all the feathers on the 

 upper part of the plumage are of a dark 

 brown, edged with light bay ; the wing-co- 

 verts and quills are deep chestnut ; the fore 

 parts of the neck and breast are pale cine- 

 reous ; the belly is a yellowish-white ; and 

 the legs are a pale flesh-colour. It is much 

 sought after for the delicacy of its flesh, but 

 it is a difficult bird to spring. The legs, 

 which are remarkably long for the size of 

 the bird, hang down while it is on the wing ; 

 and, in general, it seems rather inclined to 

 swiftness of foot than rapidity of flight. It 

 is migratory, appearing in England about 

 the beginning of April, and departing in 

 October. At the time of its arrival the bird 

 is extremely lean ; but before it quits the 

 island it becomes excessively fat. Its food 

 is chiefly worms, snails, and insects ; but it 

 also occasionally feeds on seeds and various 

 vegetables. Its note (crek-crek-crek), ra- 

 pidly repeated, has been compared to the 

 noise made by drawing a linger along the 

 teeth of a comb. 



CRAMP-FISH. A name by which the 

 Torpedo is sometimes called. [See TOR- 

 PEDO.] 



CRANE. Birds of the Crane kind (family 

 Oruidce) subsist on herbs, seeds, worms, frogs, 

 and slugs : they reside in marshy places, 

 rarely visiting the sea shores, and are f mnd 

 in various parts of the world ; but only one, 

 the COMMON CRANE, (Gmis cinerea~), is a 

 native of Europe. This bird frequently 

 measures upwards of five feet in length, and 

 weighs about ten pounds ; its gait is erect, 

 and its figure tall and slender. The bill is 

 about four inches long, straight, pointed, and 

 compressed at the sides, of a greenish-black, 

 turning lighter towards the point ; tongue 

 broad and short, and horny at the top. The 

 forehead, to the middle of the crown, is co- 

 vered with black hairy down, through which 

 the skin appears red ; behind this it is nearly 

 bare to the neck, which is ash grey. The 

 sides of the head behind the eyes, and the 

 hinder part of the neck, are white. The 

 space between the bill and eyes, the cheeks, 

 and fore part of the neck, are a blackish 

 ash ; greater wing-coverts also blackish ; 

 and those farthest from the body, with the 

 bastard wing and quills, quite black : the 

 rest of the plumage is a line waved light ash. 

 From the pinion of each wing springs an 

 elegant tuft of loose feathers, curled at the 



ends, which fall gracefully over the tail, in 

 their flexibility, position, and texture, re- 

 sembling the plumes of the ostrich. The 

 legs and bare part of the thighs are black. 



The Crane is migratory, and, soaring high 

 in the air, performs the boldest and most 

 distant journeys. In summer they spread 

 themselves over the north of Europe and 

 Asia as far as the arctic circle ; and in the 

 winter they are met witli in India, Syria, 

 Egypt, &c. They formerly visited the fens 

 and marshes of this country in large flocks ; 

 but they seem to have been driven away by 

 the advance of cultivation, which lias else- 

 where, as here, deprived it of many of its 

 most congenial localities. The female lays 

 two greyish-green eggs, spotted with brown. 



The SIBERIAN CRANE (Grits gigantea) in- 

 habits the great marshes and lakes of Siberia : 

 it builds its nest, of herbs and grass, in 

 almost inaccessible situations amongst the 

 reeds ; where the female lays two eggs : 

 both sexes are said to watch the nest alter- 

 nately ; and during the period of incubation, 

 although they are very shy at other times, 

 they will boldly attack any person that ap- 

 proaches their haunts. This species is four 

 feet six inches in height ; the bill large and 

 red ; the face naked beyond the eyes, and of 

 a red colour ; the greater quills and their 

 coverts deep black, the rest of the plumage 

 snowy white ; the tail nearly even ; the legs 

 red. 



The BROWN CRANE (Grits Canadensis) is 

 a native of North America, migrating north- 

 ward in the spring to breed, and returning 

 to the south in autumn. It is three feet 

 three inches long, and its beak about four 

 inches, the tip of the under mandible being 

 of a pale flesh-colour : the top of the head 

 being covered with a red skin, thinly beset 

 with hairs ; the hinder part and neck, grey ; 

 the scapulars and wing-coverts, pale rufous, 

 margined with brown ; the belly, breast, 

 sides, and thighs, ash-colour : the wing-co- 

 verts next the body, grey, forming a band 

 on the wing ; the greater quills dark brown, 

 with white shafts ; the secondaries pale ru- 

 fous ; the tail of a deep ash-colour ; the legs 

 and bare part of the thighs, black. The fe- 

 male lays two very large and long eggs at a 

 time ; they are much pointed at one end, 

 and freckled with brown. The nest is formed 

 on a tuft upon which much dry grass is ac- 

 cumulated, until it becomes as high as the 

 belly of the bird when standing ; this is 

 covered at the top with very fine dried grass, 

 upon which the eggs are laid, and the female 

 stands over them, placing her legs on each 

 side of the heap. [See DEMOISELLE.] 



CRAWFISH, or CRAYFISH. (Astacus 

 fluviatilis.) A Crustaceous animal of the 

 genus Astacus, differing in general appear- 

 ance but little from the Lobster. They are 

 found in almost every river, and even brook, 

 in England ; and their flesh is reckoned 

 cooling and nutritious. Species of this genus 

 are found in all parts of the world. In the 

 mammoth caves of Kentucky, in the United 

 States, a species has been discovered ; it is 

 the Astacus pellucidus of Tellkampf. Mr. 



