FAMILY XVIII. 



HERODII, ILLIGER. 



GENUS XLIL GRUS. 



201. GnUS AMERICANA, BONAP. ARDEA AMERICANA, WILSON. 



WHOOPING CRANE. 

 WILSON, PLATE LXIV. FIG. III. 



THIS is the tallest and most stately species of all the 

 feathered tribes of the United States ; the watchful 

 inhabitant of extensive salt marshes, desolate swamps, 

 and open morasses in the neighbourhood of the sea. Its 

 migrations are regular, and of the most extensive kind, 

 reaching from the shores and inundated tracts of South 

 America to the arctic circle. In these immense perio- 

 dical journeys, they pass at such a prodigious height in 

 the air as to be seldom observed. They have, however, 

 their resting stages on the route to and from their usual 

 breeding places, the regions of the north. A few some- 

 times make their appearance in the marshes of Cape 

 May, in December, particularly on and near Egg Island, 

 where they are known by the name of storks. The 

 younger birds are easily distinguished from the rest by 

 the brownness of their plumage. Some linger in these 

 marshes the whole winter, setting out north about the 

 time the ice breaks up. During their stay, they wander 

 along the marsh and muddy flats of the sea shore in 

 search of marine worms, sailing occasionally from place 

 to place, with a low and heavy flight, a little above the 

 surface; and have at such times a very formidable 

 appearance. At times they utter a loud, clear, and 

 piercing cry, which may be heard at the distance of two 

 miles. They have also various modulations of this 

 singular note, from the peculiarity of which they 



