THE CRANE KIND. 297 



of the larger sorts separately, as, in a history of 

 birds, each of these demands peculiar distinction. 

 The Crane, the Stork, the Balearic Crane, the 

 Heron, the Bittern, with some others, may require 

 a separate history. Some particular tribes may 

 next offer, that may very naturally be classed 

 together ; and as for all the smaller and least 

 remarkable sorts, they may be grouped into one 

 general description. 



CHAPTER II. 



THE CRANE. 



THERE is something extraordinary in the different 

 accounts we have of this bird's size and dimen- 

 sions. Willoughby and Pennant make the crane 

 from five to six feet long from the tip to the tail. 

 Other accounts say, that it is above five feet 

 high ; and others, that it is as tall as a man. 

 From the many which I myself had seen, I own 

 this imputed magnitude surprised me, as from 

 memory I was convinced they could neither be 

 so long nor so tall. "Indeed a bird, the body of 

 which is not larger than that of a turkey-hen, 

 and acknowledged on all hands not to weigh 

 above ten pounds, cannot easily be supposed to 

 be almost as long as an ostrich. Brisson, how- 

 ever, seems to give this bird its real dimensions, 

 when he describes it as something less than the 



