THE COMMON CRANE. - 



-MARCGRAVE'S CARIAMA. 



411 



walking. The two outer anterior toes are united at 

 the base by a very small membrane. The tail in these 

 birds is usually very short, but the wings are broad 

 and strong ; and in the true Cranes the tertiaries are 

 greatly developed, forming elegant decomposed plumes, 

 which hang gracefully over the hinder portion of the 

 bird, and often give it a most elegant appearance. 

 The head is frequently adorned with a crest. 



THE COMMON CRANE (Grus cinerea)&g. 127 is 

 an inhabitant of Europe, Asia, and Africa, resorting to 



Fig. 127. 



The Common Crane (Grus ciuerea). 



the warmer regions during the winter, and migrating 

 to the northward in the spring. It is now a very rare 

 and occasional visitor to this country, but in former 

 times appears to have been much more abundant here, 

 as it is frequently mentioned in old household books, 

 and in the descriptions of great feasts. Curiously 

 enough, it usually occurs here in severe winters. 



The Crane measures about four feet in length, and 

 the general colour of its plumage is ash-gray. The 

 sides of the head and neck are white, the wing-primaries 

 are black, and the elongated and decomposed tertiaries, 

 which were formerly much in request as ornaments for 

 the head, are variegated and tipped with blue-black. 

 The bird has a long and slender neck, and a long, 

 straight, and pointed bill. In their migrations the 

 Cranes, like the wild geese and swans, fly in a regular 

 body, usually in the form of a wedge, but sometimes 

 in a long extended line. They fly at a great height 

 in the air, and, like the aquatic birds above alluded to, 



frequently emit their loud and trumpet-like cry, which 

 may be distinctly heard even when the birds are at 

 a great elevation. The trachea, as in the wild swan, 

 is much convoluted, and a great portion of it lies in 

 a cavity of the sternum. 



The favourite haunts of the Crane are marshy 

 districts, where it finds in abundance the worms, mol- 

 lusca, and frogs, which constitute a great part of its 

 nourishment. It does not, however, confine itself to 

 this diet, but feeds freely on grain and the leaves of 

 aquatic plants. Its nest is generally placed 

 amongst the thick reeds, osiers, or luxuriant 

 herbage in the marshes which it frequents, 

 but occasionally upon the top of a ruined 

 building. The female lays only two eggs. 



THE DEMOISELLE CRANE (Anthropoid* 

 virgo] has a tuft of elongated feathers on each 

 Bide of the bead, and numerous long slender 

 plumes depending from the base of the neck. 

 The wing-coverts are very long and pointed. 

 This elegant bird is an inhabitant of Northern 

 Africa and South-western Asia, and also 

 occurs, although but sparingly, in Southern 

 Europe. It measures about three feet four 

 inches in length, and is of a bluish-ash colour, 

 with the greater part of the head and the neck 

 black. It is frequently called the Numidian 

 Crane, from its African habitat. 



THE CROWNED DEMOISELLE (Bdtearica 

 pavonina) fig. 128 is another beautiful 

 species, resembling the preceding in general 

 form, but at once distinguishable from it by the 

 presence of a large spreading tuft of stiff red- 

 dish-brown fibres, which springs from the back 

 of the head. The sides of the head are naked 

 and red, and there is a kind of wattle on 

 each side of the throat. This graceful bird is 

 an inhabitant of many parts of Africa, and also 

 extends its range to the Mediterranean islands 

 and the south of Europe. With the preceding 

 species it is frequently seen in aviaries. 



MARCGRAVE'S CARIAMA (Cariama cris- 

 tata) Plate 23, fig. 91. Besides the preceding 

 and several other species of true Cranes, 

 most of which are found in the Eastern hemisphere, 

 this family includes some singular American birds, 

 to which the name of Trumpeters is often given. 

 These birds have a shorter and more arched bill 

 than the true Cranes, and their tertiary feathers are 

 not elongated or decomposed. Of these, the species 

 known as the Cariama is a large bird about thirty or 

 thirty-two inches in length, of a reddish-gray colour, 

 very finely mottled with brown. The head is adorned 

 with a tuft of straight, decomposed plumes, and the 

 rather long and ample tail is crossed near the tip 

 by a broad black band. The wings are short, and 

 the bird possesses but little power of flight; but its long 

 legs enable it to run with great speed upon the elevated 

 plateaux of South America where it dwells. It haunts 

 the margins of woods and forests, and feeds upon 

 worms, insects, lizards, and small snakes. The Cariama 

 is a wild and shy bird. Its voice is very loud and 

 strong. 



